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BrKCS6 mutation conferred a bright glossy phenotype to Chinese cabbage

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Abstract

Key message

BrKCS6 encoding 3-ketoacyl-CoA synthases was cloned through MutMap and KASP analysis, and its function was verified via allelic mutants in Chinese cabbage.

Abstract

Bright and glossy green appearance is an attractive commodity character for leafy vegetables and is mainly caused by the absence of epicuticular wax crystals. In this study, two allelic epicuticular wax crystal deficiency mutants, wdm9 and wdm10, were obtained from an EMS mutagenesis population of Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa L. ssp. pekinensis). Genetic analysis revealed that the mutant phenotype was controlled by a recessive nuclear gene. BrKCS6 encoding 3-ketoacyl-CoA synthases was identified as the candidate gene by MutMap and KASP analysis. A SNP (G to A) on BrKCS6 in wdm9 led to the amino acid substitution from serine (S) to phenylalanine (F), and another SNP (G to A) in wdm10 resulted in the amino acid substitution from serine (S) to leucine (L). Both SNPs are located in the ACP_syn_III_C conserved domain, corresponding to two highly conserved sites among BrKCS6 and its homologs. These two amino acid substitutions changed the secondary structure and the three-dimensional structure of BrKCS6 protein. qRT-PCR results showed that the relative expression of BrKCS6 significantly decreased in the flower, stem, and leaves in mutant, and the relative expressions of the downstream key genes of BrKCS6 were down-regulated in mutant. We were the first to clone the precious glossy bright gene BrKCS6 which has a great potential for commodity quality breeding in Chinese cabbage.

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Data availability

The plant material and datasets employed in this study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 31972405).

Funding

This study was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 31972405).

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  1. Gengxing Song and Shiyao Dong contributed equally to this work and share first authorship.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Horticulture, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang, 110866, People’s Republic of China

    Gengxing Song, Shiyao Dong, Chuanhong Liu, Jiaqi Zou, Jie Ren & Hui Feng

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  1. Gengxing Song
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  2. Shiyao Dong
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  3. Chuanhong Liu
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Contributions

HF and JR designed the experiments. GS performed the experiments, and SD wrote the manuscript. CL assisted in the screening of mutants. HF and JZ revised the manuscript. All authors reviewed and approved this submission.

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Correspondence to Jie Ren or Hui Feng.

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Song, G., Dong, S., Liu, C. et al. BrKCS6 mutation conferred a bright glossy phenotype to Chinese cabbage. Theor Appl Genet 136, 216 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00122-023-04464-1

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