1. Dosage differences in 12-OXOPHYTODIENOATE REDUCTASE genes modulate wheat root growth.
- Author
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Gabay, Gilad, Wang, Hanchao, Zhang, Junli, Moriconi, Jorge I, Burguener, German F, Gualano, Leonardo D, Howell, Tyson, Lukaszewski, Adam, Staskawicz, Brian, Cho, Myeong-Je, Tanaka, Jaclyn, Fahima, Tzion, Ke, Haiyan, Dehesh, Katayoon, Zhang, Guo-Liang, Gou, Jin-Ying, Hamberg, Mats, Santa-María, Guillermo E, and Dubcovsky, Jorge
- Subjects
Triticum ,Plant Roots ,Reactive Oxygen Species ,Cyclopentanes ,Oxidoreductases Acting on CH-CH Group Donors ,Oxylipins ,Genetics - Abstract
Wheat, an essential crop for global food security, is well adapted to a wide variety of soils. However, the gene networks shaping different root architectures remain poorly understood. We report here that dosage differences in a cluster of monocot-specific 12-OXOPHYTODIENOATE REDUCTASE genes from subfamily III (OPRIII) modulate key differences in wheat root architecture, which are associated with grain yield under water-limited conditions. Wheat plants with loss-of-function mutations in OPRIII show longer seminal roots, whereas increased OPRIII dosage or transgenic over-expression result in reduced seminal root growth, precocious development of lateral roots and increased jasmonic acid (JA and JA-Ile). Pharmacological inhibition of JA-biosynthesis abolishes root length differences, consistent with a JA-mediated mechanism. Transcriptome analyses of transgenic and wild-type lines show significant enriched JA-biosynthetic and reactive oxygen species (ROS) pathways, which parallel changes in ROS distribution. OPRIII genes provide a useful entry point to engineer root architecture in wheat and other cereals.
- Published
- 2023