Molecular cytogenetic analyses of two new wheat-rye 6RL translocation lines with resistance to wheat powdery mildew

Rye(Secale cereale)is a valuable gene donor for wheat improvement,especially for its resistance to diseases.Developing rye-derived resistance sources is important for wheat breeding.In the present study,two wheat-rye derivatives,designated JS016 and JS110,were produced by crossing common wheat cultivar Yangmai 23 with Pakistani rye accession W2A.Using sequential genomic in situ hybridization(GISH)and multicolor fluorescence in situ hybridization(mc-FISH),JS016 and JS110 were identified as a T6BS.6RL translocation line and a T6BS.6BL6RL translocation line,respectively.Ten newly 6RL chromosome arm-specific markers were developed and used to confirm the 6RL translocation.The wheat 55K single-nucleotide polymorphism(SNP)array further verified the molecular cytogenetic identification results above and clarified their breakpoints at 430.9 and 523.0 Mb of chromosome 6B in JS016 and JS110,respectively.Resistance spectrum and allelism test demonstrated that JS016 and JS110 possessed novel powdery mildew resistance gene(s)that was derived from the 6RL translocation but differed from Pm20.Moreover,JS016 and JS110 had better agronomic traits than the previously reported 6RL translocation line carrying Pm20.To efficiently transfer and detect the 6RL translocation from JS016 and JS110,one 6RL-specific Kompetitive allele specific PCR(KASP)marker was developed and validated in high throughput marker-assisted selection(MAS).

HY5-HDA9 orchestrates the transcription of HsfA2 to modulate salt stress response in Arabidopsis

Integration of light signaling and diverse abiotic stress responses contribute to plant survival in a changing environment.Some reports have indicated that light signals contribute a plant’s ability to deal with heat,cold,and stress.However,the molecular link between light signaling and the saltresponse pathways remains unclear.We demonstrate here that increasing light intensity elevates the salt stress tolerance of plants.Depletion of HY5,a key component of light signaling,causes Arabidopsis thaliana to become salinity sensitive.Interestingly,the small heat shock protein(sHsp)family genes are upregulated in hy5-215 mutant plants,and HsfA 2 is commonly involved in the regulation of these sH sps.We found that HY5directly binds to the G-box motifs in the HsfA2promoter,with the cooperation of HISTONE DEACETYLASE 9(HDA9),to repress its expression.Furthermore,the accumulation of HDA9 and the interaction between HY5 and HDA9 are significantly enhanced by salt stress.On the contrary,high temperature triggers HY5 and HDA9 degradation,which leads to dissociation of HY5-HDA9from the HsfA2 promoter,thereby reducing salt tolerance.Under salt and heat stress conditions,fine tuning of protein accumulation and an interaction between HY5 and HDA9 regulate HsfA2 expression.This implies that HY5,HDA9,and HsfA2play important roles in the integration of light signaling with salt stress and heat shock response.

An ARF24-ZmArf2 module influences kernel size in different maize haplotypes

Members of the ADP-ribosylation factor family,which are GTP-binding proteins, are involved in metabolite transport, cell division, and expansion.Although there has been a significant amount of research on small GTP-binding proteins, their roles and functions in regulating maize kernel size remain elusive. Here, we identified Zm Arf2 as a maize ADPribosylation factor-like family member that is highly conserved during evolution. Maize zmarf2 mutants showed a characteristic smaller kernel size. Conversely, ZmArf2 overexpression increased maize kernel size. Furthermore, heterologous expression of Zm Arf2 dramatically elevated Arabidopsis and yeast growth by promoting cell division. Using expression quantitative trait loci(e QTL) analysis, we determined that Zm Arf2 expression levels in various lines were mainly associated with variation at the gene locus. The promoters of Zm Arf2 genes could be divided into two types, p S and p L, that were significantly associated with both Zm Arf2 expression levels and kernel size. In yeast-one-hybrid screening, maize Auxin Response Factor 24(ARF24) is directly bound to the Zm Arf2 promoter region and negatively regulated Zm Arf2 expression.Notably, the p S and p L promoter types each contained an ARF24 binding element: an auxin response element(AuxRE) in p S and an auxin response region(Aux RR) in p L, respectively. ARF24binding affinity to Aux RR was much higher compared with Aux RE. Overall, our results establish that the small G-protein Zm Arf2 positively regulates maize kernel size and reveals the mechanism of its expression regulation.

Orthologous genesPm12andPm21from twowild relatives of wheat show evolutionary conservation but divergent powdery mildew resistance

Wheat powdery mildew,caused by Blumeria graminis f.sp.tritici(Bgt),is a devastating disease that threatens wheat production worldwide.Pm12,which originated from Aegilops speltoides,a wild relative of wheat,confers strong resistance to powdery mildew and therefore has potential use in wheat breeding.Using susceptible mutants induced by gamma irradiation,we physically mapped and isolated Pm12 and showed it to be orthologous to Pm21 from Dasypyrum villosum,also a wild relative of wheat.The resistance function of Pm12 was validated via ethyl methanesulfonatemutagenesis,virus-induced gene silencing,and stable genetic transformation.Evolutionary analysis indicates that the Pm12/Pm21 loci in wheat species are relatively conserved but dynamic.Here,we demonstrated that the two orthologous genes,Pm12 and Pm21,possess differential resistance against the same set of Bgt isolates.Overexpression of the coiledcoil domains of both PM12 and PM21 induces cell death in Nicotiana benthamiana leaves.However,their full-length forms display different cell death-inducing activities caused by their distinct intramolecular interactions.Cloning of Pm12 will facilitate its application in wheat breeding programs.This study also gives new insight into two orthologous resistance genes,Pm12 and Pm21,which show different race specificities and intramolecular interaction patterns.