A MADS-box gene is involved in soybean resistance to multiple Soybean mosaic virus strains
Qiuyan Ren,
Hua Jiang,
Wenyang Xiang,
Yang Nie,
Song Xue,
Haijian Zhi,
Kai Li,
Junyi Gai
Affiliations
Qiuyan Ren
MARA National Center for Soybean Improvement/National Key Laboratory for Crop Genetics and Germplasm Enhancement/MARA Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Improvement of Soybean, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, Jiangsu, China
Hua Jiang
MARA National Center for Soybean Improvement/National Key Laboratory for Crop Genetics and Germplasm Enhancement/MARA Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Improvement of Soybean, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, Jiangsu, China
Wenyang Xiang
MARA National Center for Soybean Improvement/National Key Laboratory for Crop Genetics and Germplasm Enhancement/MARA Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Improvement of Soybean, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, Jiangsu, China
Yang Nie
MARA National Center for Soybean Improvement/National Key Laboratory for Crop Genetics and Germplasm Enhancement/MARA Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Improvement of Soybean, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, Jiangsu, China
Song Xue
MARA National Center for Soybean Improvement/National Key Laboratory for Crop Genetics and Germplasm Enhancement/MARA Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Improvement of Soybean, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, Jiangsu, China
Haijian Zhi
MARA National Center for Soybean Improvement/National Key Laboratory for Crop Genetics and Germplasm Enhancement/MARA Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Improvement of Soybean, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, Jiangsu, China
Kai Li
Corresponding authors.; MARA National Center for Soybean Improvement/National Key Laboratory for Crop Genetics and Germplasm Enhancement/MARA Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Improvement of Soybean, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, Jiangsu, China
Junyi Gai
Corresponding authors.; MARA National Center for Soybean Improvement/National Key Laboratory for Crop Genetics and Germplasm Enhancement/MARA Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Improvement of Soybean, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, Jiangsu, China
Soybean mosaic virus (SMV) is a member of the genus Potyvirus that extensively impairs global soybean production. The full-length coding sequence of the MADS-box transcription factor GmCAL was cloned from the SMV-resistant soybean cultivar Kefeng 1. SMV-induced expression analysis indicated that GmCAL responded quickly to SMV-SC8 infection in Kefeng 1 but not in NN1138-2. GmCAL was expressed at high levels in flowers and pods but at lower levels in leaves. The gene was localized to the nucleus by subcellular localization assay. Virus-induced gene silencing did not increase the accumulation of SMV in GmCAL-silenced Kefeng 1 plants (with silencing efficiency ∼ 80%) after SC8 inoculation. GmCAL-silencing plants still conferred resistance to SC8 that might be owing to incomplete silencing of genes with lower expression. SMV content decreased significantly in GmCAL-overexpressing NN1138-2 plants after SMV-SC3, SMV-SC7, and SMV-SC8 inoculation in comparison with a vector control, showing that overexpression of GmCAL conferred broad-spectrum resistance to multiple SMV strains. These results confirm that GmCAL, a key regulator but not a specific SC8 resistance gene (Rsc8), is a positive regulatory transcription factor involved in soybean resistance to SMV.
