MADS-box transcription factors show highly diverse regulatory functions in a wide variety of organisms. In this study, we characterized a MADS-box gene （BpMADS12） from the white birch （Betula platyphylla Suk）. Thi...MADS-box transcription factors show highly diverse regulatory functions in a wide variety of organisms. In this study, we characterized a MADS-box gene （BpMADS12） from the white birch （Betula platyphylla Suk）. This gene is a member of the suppressor of overexpression of CO 1/tomato MADS 3 class of MADS-box genes. We generated lines overexpressing BpMADS12 and found that these had higher levels of lignin compared to that observed in nontransgenic lines. Transcriptome anal- ysis revealed numerous changes in gene expression patterns. In total, 8794 differentially expressed genes were identified, including 5006 upregulated unigenes and 3788 downregulated unigenes in BpMADS-overexpression lines. Differentially expressed genes involved in the pathways for lignin and brassinosteroid biosynthesis were significantly enriched and may have contributed to phenotypic changes. The results from a quantitative RT-PCR analysis were consistent those obtained with the transcriptome analysis.Our transcriptome analysis, in combination with measure- ment of lignin level, indicated that BpMADS12 promotes lignin synthesis through regulation of key enzymes in response to brassinosteroid signaling. These results suggest that this MADS-box protein is crucial to all subsequent structural events and provide a good foundation for studies aiming to elucidate the developmental mechanisms underlying formation of wood.展开更多
基金financially supported by the National Science and Technology Program of China during the 12th Five-Year Plan Period(No.2013AA102704)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(NO:31200510)
文摘MADS-box transcription factors show highly diverse regulatory functions in a wide variety of organisms. In this study, we characterized a MADS-box gene （BpMADS12） from the white birch （Betula platyphylla Suk）. This gene is a member of the suppressor of overexpression of CO 1/tomato MADS 3 class of MADS-box genes. We generated lines overexpressing BpMADS12 and found that these had higher levels of lignin compared to that observed in nontransgenic lines. Transcriptome anal- ysis revealed numerous changes in gene expression patterns. In total, 8794 differentially expressed genes were identified, including 5006 upregulated unigenes and 3788 downregulated unigenes in BpMADS-overexpression lines. Differentially expressed genes involved in the pathways for lignin and brassinosteroid biosynthesis were significantly enriched and may have contributed to phenotypic changes. The results from a quantitative RT-PCR analysis were consistent those obtained with the transcriptome analysis.Our transcriptome analysis, in combination with measure- ment of lignin level, indicated that BpMADS12 promotes lignin synthesis through regulation of key enzymes in response to brassinosteroid signaling. These results suggest that this MADS-box protein is crucial to all subsequent structural events and provide a good foundation for studies aiming to elucidate the developmental mechanisms underlying formation of wood.
