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Acta Agronomica Sinica ›› 2022, Vol. 48 ›› Issue (8): 1926-1937.doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1006.2022.11067

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• CROP GENETICS & BREEDING · GERMPLASM RESOURCES · MOLECULAR GENETICS • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Cloning and functional identification of TaGS2 gene related to kernel size in bread wheat

WANG Sha-Sha1(), HUANG Chao1, WANG Qing-Chang1, CHAO Yue-En1,*(), CHEN Feng2,*(), SUN Jian-Guo3, SONG Xiao4   

  1. 1Wheat Research Institute, Henan Academy of Agricultural Sciences / Henan Province Key Laboratory of Wheat Biology, Zhengzhou 450002, Henan, China
    2Agronomy College, National Key Laboratory of Wheat and Corn Crop Sciences / Collaborative Innovation Center of Henan Grain Crops / Agronomy College, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, Henan, China
    3Department of Agricultural and Rural Affairs of Puyang, Puyang 457000, Henan, China
    4Institute of Plant Nutrient and Environmental Resources, Henan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Zhengzhou 450002, Henan, China
  • Received:2021-07-28 Accepted:2021-11-29 Online:2022-08-12 Published:2021-12-22
  • Contact: CHAO Yue-En,CHEN Feng E-mail:shasha0391@126.com;nkychaoyueen@163.com;chf0088@163.com
  • Supported by:
    Henan Province Science Foundation for Youths(202300410527);National Key Laboratory of Wheat and Maize Crop Science in Henan Agricultural University(30500772);National Science Foundation for Young Scientists of China(31801261)

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Abstract:

The kernel size affects kernel weight in wheat, and then affects yield. Up to date, the genes related to kernel size have been reported in bread wheat. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms that regulates the size of wheat kernels remains unclear. In this study, the TaGS2 gene related to kernel size was successfully cloned from bread wheat based on in silico cloning and its sequence was analyzed by bioinformatics. Subcellular localization analysis of tobacco indicated that TaGS2 was localized in the nucleus and cytoplasm. Relative expression levels of different tissues showed that the TaGS2 gene was highly expressed at different developmental stages of the kernels. RNA interference vector TaGS2-PLGY-02-RNAi was constructed and transferred into wheat. The results indicated that the relative expression levels of TaGS2 gene was significantly reduced in RNAi transgenic wheat. In addition, the kernel length and width of RNAi transgenic wheat was shortened, and the thousand-kernel weight was reduced as well. Therefore, it was speculated that TaGS2 gene was probably involved in the regulation of wheat kernel size or thousand-kernel weight. This study preliminarily reveals the TaGS2 gene function and provides important genetic resources for the improvement of thousand-kernel weight in wheat breeding program.

Key words: Triticum aestivum L., kernel size, TaGS2 gene, subcellular localization, expression analysis, RNAi interference

Fig. S1

Alignment analysis of TaGS2-2A, TaGS2-2B, and TaGS2-2D genomic DNA sequence in wheat"

Fig. 1

Schematic representation of the structures of TaGS2 gene in bread wheat"

Fig. 2

Bioinformatics analysis of TaGS2 gene in wheat A: domain prediction; B: protein secondary structure prediction; C: transmembrane structure prediction."

Fig. 3

Subcellular localization of TaGS2 protein in wheat"

Fig. 4

Relative expression levels of TaGS2 homoeologous in different tissues of wheat"

Fig. 5

PCR detection of transgenic plants in wheat M: DL2000 marker; 1-14: T1 transgenic plants; 15: wild-type wheat. "

Fig. 6

Relative expression levels of TaGS2 transgenic plants in wheat (RNAi) The significant difference is evaluated by the Student's t-test. * P < 0.05, ** P < 0.01, *** P < 0.001."

Fig. 7

Kernel size of transgenic plants in wheat (RNAi) The significant difference is evaluated by the Student's t-test. * P < 0.05, ** P < 0.01, *** P < 0.001. "

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