BrrTCP4b interacts with BrrTTG1 to suppress the development of trichomes in Brassica rapa var. rapa

The number of trichomes significantly increased in CRISPR/Cas9-edited BrrTCP4b turnip(Brassica rapa var.rapa)plants.However,the underlying molecular mechanism remains to be uncovered.In this study,we performed the Y2H screen using BrrTCP4b as the bait,which unveiled an interaction between BrrTCP4b and BrrTTG1,a pivotal WD40-repeat protein transcription factor in the MYB-bHLH-WD40(MBW)complex.This physical interaction was further validated through bimolecular luciferase complementation and co-immunoprecipitation.Furthermore,it was found that the interaction between BrrTCP4b and BrrTTG1 could inhibit the activity of MBW complex,resulting in decreased expression of BrrGL2,a positive regulator of trichomes development.In contrast,AtTCP4 is known to regulate trichomes development by interacting with AtGL3 in Arabidopsis thaliana.Overall,this study revealed that BrrTCP4b is involved in trichome development by interacting with BrrTTG1 in turnip,indicating a divergence from the mechanisms observed in model plant A.thaliana.The findings contribute to our understanding of the regulatory mechanisms governing trichome development in the non-model plants turnip.

Natural selection on floral traits of Caltha scaposa (Ranunculaceae), an alpine perennial with generalized pollination system from Northwest Yunnan

Floral traits, including those invisible to humans but visible to pollinators, that increase pollination efficiency may be selected by pollinators in plant species with pollen limitation of seed production, but the importance of pollinators as selective agents on different floral traits needs to be further quantified experimentally. In the present study, we examined selective strength on flower diameter, flower height,UV bulls-eye size, sepal size and UV proportion via female fitness in Caltha scaposa, based on openpollinated and hand-pollinated flowers, through which pollinator-mediated selection was calculated for each of floral traits. Our results suggest that seed production of C. scaposa is pollen limited in natural conditions. There was directional selection(△β_(pollinator)=-0.12) for larger flowers in open-pollinated flowers, while no significant selection was found in flower height, UV bulls-eye size, sepal size or UV proportion. Statistically significant selection was found in UV bulls-eye size, sepal size and UV proportion in hand-pollinated flowers, but interactions with pollinators contributed only to flower diameter. We conclude that in C. scaposa, floral traits that are subjected to selection might be driven by multiple selective agents, and suggest the importance of investigating floral traits that are invisible to human but visible to pollinators in measuring pollinator-mediated selection via male fitness.

Phylotranscriptomics of Swertiinae(Gentianaceae)reveals that key floral traits are not phylogenetically correlated

Establishing how lineages with similar traits are phylogenetically related remains critical for understanding the origin of biodiversity on Earth.Floral traits in plants are widely used to explore phylogenetic relationships and to delineate taxonomic groups.The subtribe Swertiinae(Gentianaceae)comprises more than 350 species with high floral diversity ranging from rotate to tubular corollas and possessing diverse nectaries.Here we performed phylogenetic analysis of 60 species from all 15 genera of the subtribe Swertiinae sensu Ho and Liu,representing the range of floral diversity,using data from the nuclear and plastid genomes.Extensive topological conflicts were present between the nuclear and plastome trees.Three of the 15 genera represented by multiple species are polyphyletic in both trees.Key floral traits including corolla type,absence or presence of lobe scales,nectary type,nectary position,and stigma type are randomly distributed in the nuclear and plastome trees without phylogenetic correlation.We also revealed the likely ancient hybrid origin of one large clade comprising 10 genera with diverse floral traits.These results highlight the complex evolutionary history of this subtribe.The phylogenies constructed here provide a basic framework for further exploring the ecological and genetic mechanisms underlying both species diversification and floral diversity.

Differences in pseudogene evolution contributed to the contrasting flavors of turnip and Chiifu, two Brassica rapa subspecies

Pseudogenes are important resources for investigation of genome evolution and genomic diversity because they are nonfunctional but have regulatory effects that influence plant adaptation and diversification.However,few systematic comparative analyses of pseudogenes in closely related species have been conducted.Here,we present a turnip(Brassica rapa ssp.rapa)genome sequence and characterize pseudogenes among diploid Brassica species/subspecies.The results revealed that the number of pseudogenes was greatest in Brassica oleracea(CC genome),followed by B.rapa(AA genome)and then Brassica nigra(BB genome),implying that pseudogene differences emerged after species differentiation.In Brassica AA genomes,pseudogenes were distributed asymmetrically on chromosomes because of numerous chromosomal insertions/rearrangements,which contributed to the diversity among subspecies.Pseudogene differences among subspecies were reflected in the flavor-related glucosinolate(GSL)pathway.Specifically,turnip had the highest content of pungent substances,probably because of expansion of the methylthioalkylmalate synthase-encoding gene family in turnips;these genes were converted into pseudogenes in B.rapa ssp.pekinensis(Chiifu).RNA interference-based silencing of the gene encoding 2-oxoglutarate-dependent dioxygenase 2,which is also associated with flavor and anticancer substances in the GSL pathway,resulted in increased abundance of anticancer compounds and decreased pungency of turnip and Chiifu.These findings revealed that pseudogene differences between turnip and Chiifu influenced the evolution of flavor-associated GSL metabolism-related genes,ultimately resulting in the different flavors of turnip and Chiifu.