Dosage differences in 12-OXOPHYTODIENOATE REDUCTASE genes modulate wheat root growth

GABAY, GILAD; WANG, HANCHAO; ZHANG, JUNLI; MORICONI, JORGE I.; BURGUENER, GERMAN FEDERICO; GUALANO, LEONARDO; HOWELL, TYSON; LUKASZEWSKI, ADAM; STASKAWICZ, BRIAN; CHO, MYEONG-JE; TANAKA, JACLYN; FAHIMA, TZION; KE, HAIYAN; DEHESH, KATAYOON; ZHANG,GUO-LIANG ; GOU, JIN-YING ; HAMBERG, MATS; SANTA MARIA, GUILLERMO ESTEBAN; DUBCOVSKY, JORGE

NATURE COMMUNICATIONS

Nature

Año: 2023

2041-1723

Wheat, an essential crop for global food security, is well adapted to a wide variety of soils. However, the gene networks shaping different root architectures remain poorly understood. We report here that dosage differences in a cluster of monocot-specific 12-OXOPHYTODIENOATE REDUCTASE genes from subfamily III (OPRIII) modulate key differences in wheat root architecture, which are associated with grain yield under water-limited conditions. Wheat plants with loss-of-function mutations in OPRIII show longer seminal roots, whereas increased OPRIII dosage or transgenic over-expression result in reduced seminal root growth, precocious development of lateral roots and increased jasmonic acid (JA and JA-Ile). Pharmacological inhibition of JA-biosynthesis abolishes root length differences, consistent with a JA-mediated mechanism. Transcriptome analyses of transgenic and wild-type lines show significant enriched JA-biosynthetic and reactive oxygen species (ROS) pathways, which parallel changes in ROS distribution. OPRIII genes provide a useful entry point to engineer root architecture in wheat and other cereals.