Cytological, physiological and transcriptomic analysis of variegated Leaves in Primulina pungentisepala offspring

Jiancun Chen; Yueya Li; Dong He; Meng Bai; Bo Li; Qixiang Zhang; Le Luo

doi:10.1186/s12870-022-03808-1

BMC Plant Biology (Sep 2022)

Cytological, physiological and transcriptomic analysis of variegated Leaves in Primulina pungentisepala offspring

Jiancun Chen,
Yueya Li,
Dong He,
Meng Bai,
Bo Li,
Qixiang Zhang,
Le Luo

Affiliations

Jiancun Chen: Beijing Key Laboratory of Ornamental Plants Germplasm Innovation & Molecular Breeding, National Engineering Research Center for Floriculture, Beijing Laboratory of Urban and Rural Ecological Environment, Engineering Research Center of Landscape Environment of Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Genetics and Breeding in Forest Trees and Ornamental Plants of Ministry of Education, School of Landscape Architecture, Beijing Forestry University
Yueya Li: Beijing Key Laboratory of Ornamental Plants Germplasm Innovation & Molecular Breeding, National Engineering Research Center for Floriculture, Beijing Laboratory of Urban and Rural Ecological Environment, Engineering Research Center of Landscape Environment of Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Genetics and Breeding in Forest Trees and Ornamental Plants of Ministry of Education, School of Landscape Architecture, Beijing Forestry University
Dong He: Beijing Key Laboratory of Ornamental Plants Germplasm Innovation & Molecular Breeding, National Engineering Research Center for Floriculture, Beijing Laboratory of Urban and Rural Ecological Environment, Engineering Research Center of Landscape Environment of Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Genetics and Breeding in Forest Trees and Ornamental Plants of Ministry of Education, School of Landscape Architecture, Beijing Forestry University
Meng Bai: Beijing Key Laboratory of Ornamental Plants Germplasm Innovation & Molecular Breeding, National Engineering Research Center for Floriculture, Beijing Laboratory of Urban and Rural Ecological Environment, Engineering Research Center of Landscape Environment of Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Genetics and Breeding in Forest Trees and Ornamental Plants of Ministry of Education, School of Landscape Architecture, Beijing Forestry University
Bo Li: Beijing Key Laboratory of Ornamental Plants Germplasm Innovation & Molecular Breeding, National Engineering Research Center for Floriculture, Beijing Laboratory of Urban and Rural Ecological Environment, Engineering Research Center of Landscape Environment of Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Genetics and Breeding in Forest Trees and Ornamental Plants of Ministry of Education, School of Landscape Architecture, Beijing Forestry University
Qixiang Zhang: Beijing Key Laboratory of Ornamental Plants Germplasm Innovation & Molecular Breeding, National Engineering Research Center for Floriculture, Beijing Laboratory of Urban and Rural Ecological Environment, Engineering Research Center of Landscape Environment of Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Genetics and Breeding in Forest Trees and Ornamental Plants of Ministry of Education, School of Landscape Architecture, Beijing Forestry University
Le Luo: Beijing Key Laboratory of Ornamental Plants Germplasm Innovation & Molecular Breeding, National Engineering Research Center for Floriculture, Beijing Laboratory of Urban and Rural Ecological Environment, Engineering Research Center of Landscape Environment of Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Genetics and Breeding in Forest Trees and Ornamental Plants of Ministry of Education, School of Landscape Architecture, Beijing Forestry University

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-022-03808-1
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 22, no. 1
pp. 1 – 15

Abstract

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Abstract Background Primulina pungentisepala is suitable for use as a potted plant because of its beautiful leaf variegation, which is significantly different in its selfed offspring. However, the mechanism of P. pungentisepala leaf variegation is unclear. In this study, two types of offspring showing the greatest differences were compared in terms of leaf structure, chlorophyll contents, chlorophyll fluorescence parameters and transcriptomes to provide a reference for studying the molecular mechanism of structural leaf variegation. Results Air spaces were found between water storage tissue, and the palisade tissue cells were spherical in the white type. The content of chlorophyll a and total chlorophyll (chlorophyll a + b) was significantly lower in the white type, but there were no significant differences in the content of chlorophyll b, chlorophyll a/b or chlorophyll fluorescence parameters between the white and green types. We performed transcriptomic sequencing to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) involved in cell division and differentiation, chlorophyll metabolism and photosynthesis. Among these genes, the expression of the cell division- and differentiation-related leucine-rich repeat receptor-like kinases (LRR-RLKs), xyloglucan endotransglycosylase/hydrolase (XET/H), pectinesterase (PE), expansin (EXP), cellulose synthase-like (CSL), VARIEGATED 3 (VAR3), and ZAT10 genes were downregulated in the white type, which might have promoted the development air spaces and variant palisade cells. Chlorophyll biosynthesis-related hydroxymethylbilane synthase (HEMC) and the H subunit of magnesium chelatase (CHLH) were downregulated, while chlorophyll degradation-related chlorophyllase-2 (CHL2) was upregulated in the white type, which might have led to lower chlorophyll accumulation. Conclusion Leaf variegation in P. pungentisepala was caused by a combination of mechanisms involving structural variegation and low chlorophyll levels. Our research provides significant insights into the molecular mechanisms of structural leaf variegation.

Published in BMC Plant Biology

ISSN: 1471-2229 (Online)
Publisher: BMC
Country of publisher: United Kingdom
LCC subjects: Science: Botany
Website: http://bmcplantbiol.biomedcentral.com

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