Abstract
Main conclusion
Ectopic expression of OsWOX9A induces narrow adaxially rolled rice leaves with larger bulliform cells and fewer large veins, probably through regulating the expression of auxin-related and expansin genes.
Abstract
The WUSCHEL-related homeobox (WOX) family plays a pivotal role in plant development by regulating genes involved in various aspects of growth and differentiation. OsWOX9A (DWT1) has been linked to tiller growth, uniform plant growth, and flower meristem activity. However, its impact on leaf growth and development in rice has not been studied. In this study, we investigated the biological role of OsWOX9A in rice growth and development using transgenic plants. Overexpression of OsWOX9A conferred narrow adaxially rolled rice leaves and altered plant architecture. These plants exhibited larger bulliform cells and fewer larger veins compared to wild-type plants. OsWOX9A overexpression also reduced plant height, tiller number, and seed-setting rate. Comparative transcriptome analysis revealed several differentially expressed auxin-related and expansin genes in OsWOX9A overexpressing plants, consistent with their roles in leaf and plant development. These results indicate that the ectopic expression of OsWOX9A may have multiple effects on the development and growth of rice, providing a more comprehensive picture of how the WOX9 subfamily contributes to leaf development and plant architecture.
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Data availability
All data supporting the findings of this study are available in the paper and supplementary materials published online.
Abbreviations
- BC:
-
Bulliform cell
- DEGs:
-
Differentially expressed genes
- LRI:
-
Leaf rolling index
- LVs:
-
Large veins
- NIP:
-
Rice Nipponbare
- WOX:
-
WUSCHEL-related homeobox family
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the Project of Sanya Yazhou Bay Science and Technology City (Grant no. SCKJ-JYRC-2022-59), National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant no. 32201834), Hainan Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant no. 324RC530), Research Startup Funding from the Hainan Institute of Zhejiang University (no. 0201-6602-A12202), and Academy/University Cooperation Project of Sichuan Province (no. 2022YFSY0033).
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FG and QS conceived of and designed the study. DL conducted the experiments. FG and DL analyzed the data. DL wrote the manuscript. FG, QS, and LF revised the manuscript. All the authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
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425_2024_4463_MOESM2_ESM.xlsx
Supplementary file2*** Supplement Table S1 List of primers used in this study. Supplement Table S2 Genes related to rolled rice leaves and the causes of rolled-leaf formation. Supplement Data S1 RNA-seq data of rice leaves from WT and OEWOX9A plants. Supplement Data S2 Numerical source data (XLSX 4767 KB)
425_2024_4463_MOESM3_ESM.xlsx
Supplementary file3 **Fig. S1 Phenotypic analysis of OEWOX9A plants. Fig. S2 Pollen vigor testing of OEWOX9A plants. Fig. S3 Heatmap of OsWOX9A expression level in various tissues. Fig. S4 mRNA profiling of OEWOX9A. Fig. S5 Analysis of cell wall-related genes differentially expressed in RNA-seq. Fig. S6 Analysis of transcription factors in DEGs (XLSX 90 KB)
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Li, D., Fan, L., Shu, Q. et al. Ectopic expression of OsWOX9A alters leaf anatomy and plant architecture in rice. Planta 260, 30 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-024-04463-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-024-04463-6