Abstract
Main conclusion
CONSTANS-LIKE 5 of Nelumbo nucifera is capable of promoting potato tuberization through CONSTANS-FLOWERING LOCUS T and gibberellin signaling pathways with a probable association with lotus rhizome enlargement.
Abstract
Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) is an aquatic plant that is affiliated to the Nelumbonaceace family. It is widely used as an ornamental, vegetable, and medicinal herb with its rhizome being a popular vegetable. To explore the molecular mechanism underlying its rhizome enlargement, we conducted a systematic analysis on the CONSTANS-LIKE (COL) gene family, with the results, indicating that this gene plays a role in regulating potato tuber expansion. These analyses included phylogenetic relationships, gene structure, and expressional patterns of lotus COL family genes. Based on these analyses, NnCOL5 was selected for further study on its potential function in lotus rhizome formation. NnCOL5 was shown to be located in the nucleus, and its expression was positively associated with the enlargement of lotus rhizome. Besides, the overexpression of NnCOL5 in potato led to increased tuber weight and starch content under short-day conditions without changing the number of tubers. Further analysis suggested that the observed tuber changes might be mediated by affecting the expression of genes in CO–FT and GA signaling pathways. These results provide valuable insight in understanding the functions of COL gene as well as the enlargement of lotus rhizome.
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The transcriptomics data have been deposited to NCBI (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/) with the accession numbers PRJNA591691.
Abbreviations
- COL:
-
CONSTANS-LIKE
- FT:
-
FLOWERING LOCUS T
- LD:
-
Long day
- SD:
-
Short day
- SP5G:
-
SELF-PRUNING 5G
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Acknowledgements
The authors are very grateful to Professor Botao Song from Huazhong Agricultural University for his kind help in potato transgenic experiments.
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Cao, D., Lin, Z., Huang, L. et al. A CONSTANS-LIKE gene of Nelumbo nucifera could promote potato tuberization. Planta 253, 65 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-021-03581-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-021-03581-9