Abstract
Ramie is an economically important industrial fiber crop widely planted in China, India, and other Southeast Asian and Pacific Rim countries. It plays an important role in China's economy, where ramie farming, industry, and trade provide livelihood support to about five million people. However, poor fiber production resulting from leaf senescence and leaf abscission is a significant problem. In this study, we report the successful production of transgenic ramie plants which delayed leaf senescence and enhanced biomass. Transgenic ramie plants were obtained via transformation with the Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain harboring the binary vector pSG529 containing the isopentyl transferase (ipt) gene under control of the SAG12 promoter (PSAG 12‐ipt construct). Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain EHA105 was used for the midrib explant transformation. The transformation frequency was 28.29%. Southern blot confirmed the integration of 1–4 copies of the NPTII gene into the ramie genome in the tested lines. At the fiber maturation stage, the transgenic plants had higher photosynthesis rates, chlorophyll content (SPAD values), and stronger resistance to exogenous ethylene compared with wild‐type plants.
Highlights
Ramie is an economically important industrial fiber crop widely planted in China, India, and other Southeast Asian and Pacific Rim countries
Transgenic ramie plants were obtained via transformation with the Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain harboring the binary vector pSG529 containing the isopentyl transferase gene under control of the SAG12 promoter (PSAG12-ipt construct)
At the fiber maturation stage, the transgenic plants had higher photosynthesis rates, chlorophyll content (SPAD values), and stronger resistance to exogenous ethylene compared with wild-type plants
Summary
Ramie is an economically important industrial fiber crop widely planted in China, India, and other Southeast Asian and Pacific Rim countries. It plays an important role in China’s economy, where ramie farming, industry, and trade provide livelihood support to about five million people. We report the successful production of transgenic ramie plants which delayed leaf senescence and enhanced biomass. Ramie is grown on about 80 000 ha, with annual fiber production of 150 000t in 2012 (FAOSTAT, http://faostat3.fao.org). Leaf senescence can substantially limit crop biomass accumulation This complex process involves a sequence of changes in cellular physiology, biochemistry, and gene expression [11]. Increased Ck production can delay leaf senescence, whereas reduced endogenous Ck levels can result in premature senescence [21]
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