Search

Root system architecture (RSA) is the primary predictor of nutrient intake and significantly influences potassium utilization efficiency (KUE). Uncertainty persists regarding the genetic factors governing root growth in rapeseed. The root transcriptome analysis reveals the genetic basis driving crop root growth. In this study, RNA-seq was used to profile the overall transcriptome in the root tissue of 20 Brassica napus accessions with high and low KUE. 71,437 genes in the roots displayed variable expression profiles between the two contrasting genotype groups. The 212 genes that had varied expression levels between the high and low KUE lines were found using a pairwise comparison approach. The Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) functional classification analysis revealed that the DEGs implicated in hormone and signaling pathways, as well as glucose, lipid, and amino acid metabolism, were all differently regulated in the rapeseed root system. Additionally, we discovered 33 transcription factors (TFs) that control root development were differentially expressed. By combining differential expression analysis, weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA), and recent genome-wide association study (GWAS) results, four candidate genes were identified as essential hub genes. These potential genes were located fewer than 100 kb from the peak SNPs of QTL clusters, and it was hypothesized that they regulated the formation of the root system. Three of the four hub genes’ homologs—BnaC04G0560400ZS, BnaC04G0560400ZS, and BnaA03G0073500ZS—have been shown to control root development in earlier research. The information produced by our transcriptome profiling could be useful in revealing the molecular processes involved in the growth of rapeseed roots in response to KUE.

Stem lodging resistance is a serious problem impairing crop yield and quality. ZS11 is an adaptable and stable yielding rapeseed variety with excellent resistance to lodging. However, the mechanism regulating lodging resistance in ZS11 remains unclear. Here, we observed that high stem mechanical strength is the main factor determining the superior lodging resistance of ZS11 through a comparative biology study. Compared with 4D122, ZS11 has higher rind penetrometer resistance (RPR) and stem breaking strength (SBS) at flowering and silique stages. Anatomical analysis shows that ZS11 exhibits thicker xylem layers and denser interfascicular fibrocytes. Analysis of cell wall components suggests that ZS11 possessed more lignin and cellulose during stem secondary development. By comparative transcriptome analysis, we reveal a relatively higher expression of genes required for S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) synthesis, and several key genes (4-COUMATATE-CoA LIGASE, CINNAMOYL-CoA REDUCTASE, CAFFEATE O-METHYLTRANSFERASE, PEROXIDASE) involved in lignin synthesis pathway in ZS11, which support an enhanced lignin biosynthesis ability in the ZS11 stem. Moreover, the difference in cellulose may relate to the significant enrichment of DEGs associated with microtubule-related process and cytoskeleton organization at the flowering stage. Protein interaction network analysis indicate that the preferential expression of several genes, such as LONESOME HIGHWAY (LHW), DNA BINDING WITH ONE FINGERS (DOFs), WUSCHEL HOMEOBOX RELATED 4 (WOX4), are related to vascular development and contribute to denser and thicker lignified cell layers in ZS11. Taken together, our results provide insights into the physiological and molecular regulatory basis for the formation of stem lodging resistance in ZS11, which will greatly promote the application of this superior trait in rapeseed breeding.

Branch architecture is an important factor influencing rapeseed planting density, mechanized harvest, and yield. However, its related genes and regulatory mechanisms remain largely unknown. In this study, branch angle (BA) and branch dispersion degree (BD) were used to evaluate branch architecture. Branch angle exhibited a dynamic change from an increase in the early stage to a gradual decrease until reaching a stable state. Cytological analysis showed that BA variation was mainly due to xylem size differences in the vascular bundle of the branch junction. The phenotypic analysis of 327 natural accessions revealed that BA in six environments ranged from 24.3° to 67.9°, and that BD in three environments varied from 4.20 cm to 21.4 cm, respectively. A total of 115 significant loci were detected through association mapping in three models (MLM, mrMLM, and FarmCPU), which explained 0.53%-19.4% of the phenotypic variations. Of them, 10 loci were repeatedly detected in different environments and models, one of which qBAD.A03-2 was verified as a stable QTL using a secondary segregation population. Totally, 1066 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified between branch adaxial- and abaxial- sides from four extremely large or small BA/BD accessions through RNA sequencing. These DEGs were significantly enriched in the pathways related to auxin biosynthesis and transport as well as cell extension such as indole alkaloid biosynthesis, other glycan degradation, and fatty acid elongation. Four known candidate genes BnaA02g16500D (PIN1), BnaA03g10430D (PIN2), BnaC03g06250D (LAZY1), and BnaC06g20640D (ARF17) were identified by both GWAS and RNA-seq, all of which were involved in regulating the asymmetric distribution of auxins. Our identified association loci and candidate genes provide a theoretical basis for further study of gene cloning and genetic improvement of branch architecture.

Plants rely on root systems for nutrient uptake from soils. Marker-assisted selection helps breeders to select desirable root traits for effective nutrient uptake. Here, 12 root and biomass traits were investigated at the seedling stage under low nitrogen (LN), low phosphorus (LP), and low potassium (LK) conditions, respectively, in a recombinant inbred line (RIL) population, which was generated from Brassica napus L. Zhongshuang11 and 4D122 with significant differences in root traits and nutrient efficiency. Significant differences for all the investigated traits were observed among RILs, with high heritabilities (0.43–0.74) and high correlations between the different treatments. Quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping identified 57, 27, and 36 loci, explaining 4.1–10.9, 4.6–10.8, and 4.9–17.4% phenotypic variances under LN, LP, and LK, respectively. Through QTL-meta analysis, these loci were integrated into 18 significant QTL clusters. Four major QTL clusters involved 25 QTLs that could be repeatedly detected and explained more than 10% phenotypic variances, including two NPK-common and two specific QTL clusters (K and NK-specific), indicating their critical role in cooperative nutrients uptake of N, P, and K. Moreover, 264 genes within the four major QTL clusters having high expressions in roots and SNP/InDel variations between two parents were identified as potential candidate genes. Thirty-eight of them have been reported to be associated with root growth and development and/or nutrient stress tolerance. These key loci and candidate genes lay the foundation for deeper dissection of the NPK starvation response mechanisms in B. napus.

As the major determinant for nutrient uptake, root system architecture (RSA) has a massive impact on nitrogen use efficiency (NUE). However, little is known the molecular control of RSA as related to NUE in rapeseed. Here, a rapeseed recombinant inbred line population (BnaZNRIL) was used to investigate root morphology (RM, an important component for RSA) and NUE-related traits under high-nitrogen (HN) and low-nitrogen (LN) conditions by hydroponics. Data analysis suggested that RM-related traits, particularly root size had significantly phenotypic correlations with plant dry biomass and N uptake irrespective of N levels, but no or little correlation with N utilization efficiency (NUtE), providing the potential to identify QTLs with pleiotropy or specificity for RM- and NUE-related traits. A total of 129 QTLs (including 23 stable QTLs, which were repeatedly detected at least two environments or different N levels) were identified and 83 of them were integrated into 22 pleiotropic QTL clusters. Five RM-NUE, ten RM-specific and three NUE-specific QTL clusters with same directions of additive-effect implied two NUE-improving approaches (RM-based and N utilization-based directly) and provided valuable genomic regions for NUE improvement in rapeseed. Importantly, all of four major QTLs and most of stable QTLs (20 out of 23) detected here were related to RM traits under HN and/or LN levels, suggested that regulating RM to improve NUE would be more feasible than regulating N efficiency directly. These results provided the promising genomic regions for marker-assisted selection on RM-based NUE improvement in rapeseed.

Primary root (PR) development is a crucial developmental process that is essential for plant survival. The elucidation of the PR transcriptome provides insight into the genetic mechanism controlling PR development in crops. In this study, we performed a comparative transcriptome analysis to investigate the genome-wide gene expression profiles of the seedling PRs of four Brassica napus genotypes that were divided into two groups, short group (D43 and D61) and long group (D69 and D72), according to their extremely different primary root lengths (PRLs). The results generated 55,341,366–64,631,336 clean reads aligned to 62,562 genes (61.9% of the current annotated genes) in the B. napus genome. We provide evidence that at least 44,986 genes are actively expressed in the B. napus PR. The majority of the genes that were expressed during seedling PR development were associated with metabolism, cellular processes, response to stimulus, biological regulation and signaling. Using a pairwise comparison approach, 509 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) (absolute value of log2 fold-change ≥1 and p ≤0.05) between the long and short groups were revealed, including phytohormone-related genes, protein kinases and phosphatases, oxygenase, cytochrome P450 proteins, etc. Combining GO functional category, KEGG and MapMan pathway analyses indicated that the DEGs involved in cell wall metabolism, carbohydrate metabolism, lipid metabolism, secondary metabolism, protein modification and degradation, hormone pathways and signaling pathways were the main causes of the observed PRL differences. We also identified 16 differentially expressed transcription factors (TFs) involved in PR development. Taken together, these transcriptomic datasets may serve as a foundation for the identification of candidate genes and may provide valuable information for understanding the molecular and cellular events related to PR development.

Root system architecture (RSA) is the primary predictor of nutrient intake and significantly influences potassium utilization efficiency (KUE). Uncertainty persists regarding the genetic factors governing root growth in rapeseed. The root transcriptome analysis reveals the genetic basis driving crop root growth. In this study, RNA-seq was used to profile the overall transcriptome in the root tissue of 20 Brassica napus accessions with high and low KUE. 71,437 genes in the roots displayed variable expression profiles between the two contrasting genotype groups. The 212 genes that had varied expression levels between the high and low KUE lines were found using a pairwise comparison approach. The Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) functional classification analysis revealed that the DEGs implicated in hormone and signaling pathways, as well as glucose, lipid, and amino acid metabolism, were all differently regulated in the rapeseed root system. Additionally, we discovered 33 transcription factors (TFs) that control root development were differentially expressed. By combining differential expression analysis, weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA), and recent genome-wide association study (GWAS) results, four candidate genes were identified as essential hub genes. These potential genes were located fewer than 100 kb from the peak SNPs of QTL clusters, and it was hypothesized that they regulated the formation of the root system. Three of the four hub genes' homologs--BnaC04G0560400ZS, BnaC04G0560400ZS, and BnaA03G0073500ZS--have been shown to control root development in earlier research. The information produced by our transcriptome profiling could be useful in revealing the molecular processes involved in the growth of rapeseed roots in response to KUE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plants rely on root systems for nutrient uptake from soils. Marker-assisted selection helps breeders to select desirable root traits for effective nutrient uptake. Here, 12 root and biomass traits were investigated at the seedling stage under low nitrogen (LN), low phosphorus (LP), and low potassium (LK) conditions, respectively, in a recombinant inbred line (RIL) population, which was generated from Brassica napus L. Zhongshuang11 and 4D122 with significant differences in root traits and nutrient efficiency. Significant differences for all the investigated traits were observed among RILs, with high heritabilities (0.43-0.74) and high correlations between the different treatments. Quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping identified 57, 27, and 36 loci, explaining 4.1-10.9, 4.6-10.8, and 4.9-17.4% phenotypic variances under LN, LP, and LK, respectively. Through QTL-meta analysis, these loci were integrated into 18 significant QTL clusters. Four major QTL clusters involved 25 QTLs that could be repeatedly detected and explained more than 10% phenotypic variances, including two NPK-common and two specific QTL clusters (K and NK-specific), indicating their critical role in cooperative nutrients uptake of N, P, and K. Moreover, 264 genes within the four major QTL clusters having high expressions in roots and SNP/InDel variations between two parents were identified as potential candidate genes. Thirty-eight of them have been reported to be associated with root growth and development and/or nutrient stress tolerance. These key loci and candidate genes lay the foundation for deeper dissection of the NPK starvation response mechanisms in B. napus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]