The WUSCHELa (PtoWUSa) is Involved in Developmental Plasticity of Adventitious Root in Poplar.

Jianbo Li,Mengzhu Lu,Lijuan Wang,Pei Sun,Huixia Jia,Jianjun Hu,Jin Zhang,Yongxiu Xia

doi:10.3390/genes11020176

Abstract

WUSCHEL-RELATED HOMEOBOX (WOX) transcription factors play critical roles in cell fate determination during plant development. As the founding member of the WOX family, WUSCHEL (WUS) is characterized for its role in maintaining stem cell in meristem. In this study, we investigated the function of Populus tomentosa WUSCHELa (PtoWUSa) in adventitious roots (ARs) in poplar. Expression profile analysis showed that PtoWUSa was not only expressed in shoot apical meristem and stem, but also expressed in ARs. Ectopic expression of PtoWUSa in Arabidopsis resulted in shortened primary root, as well as agravitropism and multiple branches. Overexpression of PtoWUSa in poplar increased the number of ARs but decreased their length. Moreover, the AR tip and lateral root tip became larger and swollen. In addition, the expression of auxin transporter genes PIN-FORMED were downregulated in ARs of transgenic plant. Taken together, these results suggest that PtoWUSa could be involved in AR development in poplar through regulating the polar auxin transport in ARs.

Highlights

Cutting is a main method of vegetative propagation for woody plants
Populus tomentosa WUSCHELa (PtoWUSa) was chosen for function investigation in adventitious roots (ARs) development in the present study
The GUS signal was specially detected in the AR tip (ART) and the lateral root (LR) tip (LRT) (Figure 2C–F). These results indicated that the PtoWUSa accumulated in LRT and ART in the roots, suggesting that PtoWUSa might play roles in root development

Summary

Introduction

Cutting is a main method of vegetative propagation for woody plants. An essential step of cutting depends on the formation and development of adventitious roots (ARs). Dissecting the molecular mechanisms of the development of ARs and exploring the function of genes regulating adventitious rooting will be beneficial for improving propagation efficiency. ARs are always generated from the stem-, hypocotyl- or leaf-derived cells. The development of ARs is regulated by multiple endogenous and environmental factors. Phytohormone auxin plays a key role [1]

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Discussion

Conclusion