Guoyuan Liu1, Ji Liu1, Wenfeng Pei2, Xihua Li1, Nuohan Wang1, Jianjiang Ma1, Xinshan Zang1, Jinfa Zhang3, Shuxun Yu4, Man Wu5, Jiwen Yu6. 1. Zhengzhou Research Base, State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, Institute of Cotton Research of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Key Laboratory for Cotton Genetic Improvement, Ministry of Agriculture, Zhengzhou University, Anyang, 455000, Henan, China. 2. Xinjiang Research Base, State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, Xinjiang Agricultural University, Urumqi, 830001, China. 3. Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, New Mexico State University, Box 30003, Las Cruces, NM, 88003, USA. 4. Zhengzhou Research Base, State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, Institute of Cotton Research of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Key Laboratory for Cotton Genetic Improvement, Ministry of Agriculture, Zhengzhou University, Anyang, 455000, Henan, China. yu@cricaas.com.cn. 5. Zhengzhou Research Base, State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, Institute of Cotton Research of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Key Laboratory for Cotton Genetic Improvement, Ministry of Agriculture, Zhengzhou University, Anyang, 455000, Henan, China. wuman@cricaas.com.cn. 6. Zhengzhou Research Base, State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, Institute of Cotton Research of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Key Laboratory for Cotton Genetic Improvement, Ministry of Agriculture, Zhengzhou University, Anyang, 455000, Henan, China. yujw@cricaas.com.cn.
Abstract
MAIN CONCLUSION: The MIR160 family in Gossypium hirsutum and G. barbadense was characterized, and miR160a_A05 was found to increase cotton-fiber length by downregulating its target gene (ARF17) and several GH3 genes. Cotton fiber is the most important raw material for the textile industry. MicroRNAs are involved in regulating cotton-fiber development, but a role in fiber elongation has not been demonstrated. In this study, miR160a was found to be differentially expressed in elongating fibers between two interspecific (between Gossypium hirsutum and G. barbadense) backcross inbred lines (BILs) with different fiber lengths. The gene MIR160 colocalized with a previously mapped fiber-length quantitative trait locus. Its target gene ARF17 was differentially expressed between the two BILs during fiber elongation, but in the inverse fashion. Bioinformatics was used to analyze the MIR160 family in both G. hirsutum and G. barbadense. Moreover, qRT-PCR analysis identified MIR160a as the functional MIR160 gene encoding the miR160a precursor during fiber elongation. Using virus-induced gene silencing and overexpression, overexpressed MIR160a_A05 resulted in significantly longer fibers compared with wild type, whereas suppression of miR160 resulted in significantly shorter fibers. Expression levels of the target gene auxin-response factor 17 (ARF17) and related genes GH3 in the two BILs and/or the virus-infected plants demonstrated similar changes in response to modulation of miR160a level. Finally, overexpression or suppression of miR160 increased or decreased, respectively, the cellular level of indole-3-acetic acid, which is involved in fiber elongation. These results describe a specific regulatory mechanism for fiber elongation in cotton that can be utilized for future crop improvement.
MAIN CONCLUSION: The MIR160 family in Gossypium hirsutum and G. barbadense was characterized, and miR160a_A05 was found to increase cotton-fiber length by downregulating its target gene (ARF17) and several GH3 genes. Cotton fiber is the most important raw material for the textile industry. MicroRNAs are involved in regulating cotton-fiber development, but a role in fiber elongation has not been demonstrated. In this study, miR160a was found to be differentially expressed in elongating fibers between two interspecific (between Gossypium hirsutum and G. barbadense) backcross inbred lines (BILs) with different fiber lengths. The gene MIR160 colocalized with a previously mapped fiber-length quantitative trait locus. Its target gene ARF17 was differentially expressed between the two BILs during fiber elongation, but in the inverse fashion. Bioinformatics was used to analyze the MIR160 family in both G. hirsutum and G. barbadense. Moreover, qRT-PCR analysis identified MIR160a as the functional MIR160 gene encoding the miR160a precursor during fiber elongation. Using virus-induced gene silencing and overexpression, overexpressed MIR160a_A05 resulted in significantly longer fibers compared with wild type, whereas suppression of miR160 resulted in significantly shorter fibers. Expression levels of the target gene auxin-response factor 17 (ARF17) and related genes GH3 in the two BILs and/or the virus-infected plants demonstrated similar changes in response to modulation of miR160a level. Finally, overexpression or suppression of miR160 increased or decreased, respectively, the cellular level of indole-3-acetic acid, which is involved in fiber elongation. These results describe a specific regulatory mechanism for fiber elongation in cotton that can be utilized for future crop improvement.
Authors: Z Jeffrey Chen; Brian E Scheffler; Elizabeth Dennis; Barbara A Triplett; Tianzhen Zhang; Wangzhen Guo; Xiaoya Chen; David M Stelly; Pablo D Rabinowicz; Christopher D Town; Tony Arioli; Curt Brubaker; Roy G Cantrell; Jean-Marc Lacape; Mauricio Ulloa; Peng Chee; Alan R Gingle; Candace H Haigler; Richard Percy; Sukumar Saha; Thea Wilkins; Robert J Wright; Allen Van Deynze; Yuxian Zhu; Shuxun Yu; Ibrokhim Abdurakhmonov; Ishwarappa Katageri; P Ananda Kumar; Yusuf Zafar; John Z Yu; Russell J Kohel; Jonathan F Wendel; Andrew H Paterson Journal: Plant Physiol Date: 2007-12 Impact factor: 8.340
Authors: Blake C Meyers; Michael J Axtell; Bonnie Bartel; David P Bartel; David Baulcombe; John L Bowman; Xiaofeng Cao; James C Carrington; Xuemei Chen; Pamela J Green; Sam Griffiths-Jones; Steven E Jacobsen; Allison C Mallory; Robert A Martienssen; R Scott Poethig; Yijun Qi; Herve Vaucheret; Olivier Voinnet; Yuichiro Watanabe; Detlef Weigel; Jian-Kang Zhu Journal: Plant Cell Date: 2008-12-12 Impact factor: 11.277