Ac/Ds-induced chromosomal rearrangements in rice genomes

Ac/Ds-Induced Receptor-like Kinase Genes Deletion Provides Broad-Spectrum Resistance to Bacterial Blight in Rice

Rice bacterial blight caused by Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo) seriously affects rice yield production. The discovery and application of broad-spectrum resistance genes are of great advance for disease resistance breeding. Previously, we identified that multiple receptor-like kinase (RLK) family gene deletions induced by the Ac/Ds system resulted in a lesion mimic symptom. In this study, the mutant #29 showed that this lesion mimic symptom was isolated. Further analysis identified that four RLK genes (RLK19-22) were deleted in the #29 mutant. The #29 mutant exhibited broad-spectrum resistance to Xoo and subsequent analyses identified that pathogenesis-related genes PR1a, PBZ1, and cellular H₂O₂ levels were significantly induced in the mutant compared to wild-type plants. A genetic analysis revealed that reconstruction of RLK20, RLK21, or RLK22 rescued the lesion mimic symptom of the #29 mutant, indicating that these three RLKs are responsible for broad-spectrum resistance in rice. Further yeast two hybrid and bimolecular fluorescence complementation assays demonstrated that RLK20 interacts with RBOHB, which is a ROS producer in plants. Compared to wild-type plants, the #29 mutant was more, while #29/RLK20ox was less, susceptible to MV (methyl-viologen), an ROS inducer. Co-expression of RLK20 and RBOHB reduced RBOHB-promoted H₂O₂ accumulation in the cells. Taken together, our research indicated that the RLKs may inhibit RBOHB activity to negatively regulate rice resistance to Xoo. These results provide the theoretical basis and valuable information about the target genes necessary for the successful breeding of rice cultivars resistant to bacterial blight.

Homoeologous Exchanges, Segmental Allopolyploidy, and Polyploid Genome Evolution

Polyploidy is a major force in plant evolution and speciation. In newly formed allopolyploids, pairing between related chromosomes from different subgenomes (homoeologous chromosomes) during meiosis is common. The initial stages of allopolyploid formation are characterized by a spectrum of saltational genomic and regulatory alterations that are responsible for evolutionary novelty. Here we highlight the possible effects and roles of recombination between homoeologous chromosomes during the early stages of allopolyploid stabilization. Homoeologous exchanges (HEs) have been reported in young allopolyploids from across the angiosperms. Although all lineages undergo karyotype change via chromosome rearrangements over time, the early generations after allopolyploid formation are predicted to show an accelerated rate of genomic change. HEs can also cause changes in allele dosage, genome-wide methylation patterns, and downstream phenotypes, and can hence be responsible for speciation and genome stabilization events. Additionally, we propose that fixation of duplication - deletion events resulting from HEs could lead to the production of genomes which appear to be a mix of autopolyploid and allopolyploid segments, sometimes termed "segmental allopolyploids." We discuss the implications of these findings for our understanding of the relationship between genome instability in novel polyploids and genome evolution.

LARGE GRAIN Encodes a Putative RNA-Binding Protein that Regulates Spikelet Hull Length in Rice

Grain size is a key determiner of grain weight, one of the yield components in rice (Oryza sativa). Therefore, to increase grain yield, it is important to elucidate the detailed mechanisms regulating grain size. The Large grain (Lgg) mutant, found in the nonautonomous DNA-based active rice transposon1 (nDart1)-tagged lines of Koshihikari, is caused by a truncated nDart1-3 and 355 bp deletion in the 5' untranslated region of LGG, which encodes a putative RNA-binding protein, through transposon display and cosegregation analysis between grain length and LGG genotype in F2 and F3. Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/CRISPR-associated 9-mediated knockout and overexpression of LGG led to longer and shorter grains than wild type, respectively, showing that LGG regulates spikelet hull length. Expression of LGG was highest in the 0.6-mm-long young panicle and gradually decreased as the panicle elongated. LGG was also expressed in roots and leaves. These results show that LGG functions at the very early stage of panicle development. Longitudinal cell numbers of spikelet hulls of Lgg, knockout and overexpressed plants were significantly different from those of the wild type, suggesting that LGG might regulate longitudinal cell proliferation in the spikelet hull. RNA-Seq analysis of 1-mm-long young panicles from LGG knockout and overexpressing plants revealed that the expressions of many cell cycle-related genes were reduced in knockout plants relative to LGG-overexpressing plants and wild type, whereas some genes for cell proliferation were highly expressed in knockout plants. Taken together, these results suggest that LGG might be a regulator of cell cycle and cell division in the rice spikelet hull.

Generation and Analysis of Transposon Ac/Ds-Induced Chromosomal Rearrangements in Rice Plants

Closely-located transposable elements (TEs) have been known to induce chromosomal breakage and rearrangements via alternative transposition. To study genome rearrangements in rice, an Ac/Ds system has been employed. This system comprises an immobile Ac element expressed under the control of CaMV 35S promoter, and a modified Ds element. A starter line carried Ac and a single copy of Ds at the OsRLG5 (Oryza sativa receptor-like gene 5). To enhance the transpositional activity, seed-derived calli were cultured and regenerated into plants. Among 270 lines regenerated from the starter, one line was selected that contained a pair of inversely-oriented Ds elements at the OsRLG5 (Oryza sativa receptor-like gene 5). The selected line was again subjected to tissue culture to obtain a regenerant population. Among 300 regenerated plants, 107 (36 %) contained chromosomal rearrangements including deletions, duplications, and inversions of various sizes. From 34 plants, transposition mechanisms leading to such genomic rearrangements were analyzed. The rearrangements were induced by sister chromatid transposition (SCT), homologous recombination (HR), and single chromatid transposition (SLCT). Among them, 22 events (65 %) were found to be transmitted to the next generation. These results demonstrate a great potential of tissue culture regeneration and the Ac/Ds system in understanding alternative transposition mechanisms and in developing chromosome engineering in plants.

Copy number variation of transposable elements in Triticum-Aegilops genus suggests evolutionary and revolutionary dynamics following allopolyploidization

Here, we report on copy number variation of transposable elements and on the genome-specific proliferation in wheat. In addition, we report on revolutionary and evolutionary dynamics of transposons. Wheat is a valuable model for understanding the involvement of transposable elements (TEs) in speciation as wheat species (Triticum-Aegilops group) have diverged from a common ancestor, have undergone two events of speciation through allopolyploidy, and contain a very high fraction of TEs. However, an unbiased genome-wide examination of TE variation among these species has not been conducted. Our research utilized quantitative real time PCR to assess the relative copy numbers of 16 TE families in various Triticum and Aegilops species. We found (1) high variation and genome-specificity of TEs in wheat species, suggesting they were active throughout the evolution of wheat, (2) neither Ae. searsii nor Ae. speltoides by themselves can be the only contributors of the B genome to wheat, and (3) nonadditive changes in TE quantities in polyploid wheat. This study indicates the apparent involvement of large TEs in creating genetic variation in revolutionary and evolutionary scales following allopolyploidization events, presumably assisting in the diploidization of homeologous chromosomes.