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. 2023 Feb 9:14:1092654.
doi: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1092654. eCollection 2023.

Strigolactones modulate stem length and diameter of cherry rootstocks through interaction with other hormone signaling pathways

Xunju Liu  1 , Yan Xu  1 , Wanxia Sun  1 , Jiyuan Wang  1 , Yixin Gao  1 , Lei Wang  1 , Wenping Xu  1 , Shiping Wang  1 , Songtao Jiu  1 , Caixi Zhang  1
Affiliations

Strigolactones modulate stem length and diameter of cherry rootstocks through interaction with other hormone signaling pathways

Xunju Liu et al. Front Plant Sci. .

Abstract

Stem growth and development has considerable effects on plant architecture and yield performance. Strigolactones (SLs) modulate shoot branching and root architecture in plants. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying SLs regulate cherry rootstocks stem growth and development remain unclear. Our studies showed that the synthetic SL analog rac-GR24 and the biosynthetic inhibitor TIS108 affected stem length and diameter, aboveground weight, and chlorophyll content. The stem length of cherry rootstocks following TIS108 treatment reached a maximum value of 6.97 cm, which was much higher than that following rac-GR24 treatments at 30 days after treatment. Stem paraffin section showed that SLs affected cell size. A total of 1936, 743, and 1656 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were observed in stems treated with 10 μM rac-GR24, 0.1 μM rac-GR24, and 10 μM TIS108, respectively. RNA-seq results highlighted several DEGs, including CKX, LOG, YUCCA, AUX, and EXP, which play vital roles in stem growth and development. UPLC-3Q-MS analysis revealed that SL analogs and inhibitors affected the levels of several hormones in the stems. The endogenous GA3 content of stems increased significantly with 0.1 μM rac-GR24 or 10 μM TIS108 treatment, which is consistent with changes in the stem length following the same treatments. This study demonstrated that SLs affected stem growth of cherry rootstocks by changing other endogenous hormone levels. These results provide a solid theoretical basis for using SLs to modulate plant height and achieve sweet cherry dwarfing and high-density cultivation.

Keywords: cherry rootstocks; differentially expressed genes; stem growth and development; strigolactones; transcriptomics.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Growth characteristics of cherry rootstocks treated with exogenous rac-GR24 and TIS108 treatments. (A) Phenotypic characteristics of aboveground part in cherry rootstocks treated with exogenous rac-GR24 or TIS108. Bar = 2 cm. (B) Stem length of cherry rootstocks treated with exogenous rac-GR24 and TIS108 at 5, 10, and 30 days after treatment (DAT). Stem diameter (C), fresh weight (Fw) of aboveground (D), and chlorophyll content (E) of cherry rootstocks treated with exogenous rac-GR24 and TIS108 at 30 DAT. The data represent means ± standard deviation (SD) of three replicates. Statistical significance was determined by one-way analysis of variance; significant differences among means (LSD, p < 0.05) are indicated by different lowercase letters.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Stem paraffin section of cherry rootstocks at control group (A) and 30 d after 0.1 μM rac-GR24 (B), 10 μM rac-GR24 (C), and 10 μM TIS108 (D) treatments. Bar = 60 μm.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Endogenous hormone levels of cherry rootstocks treated with rac-GR24 or TIS108 at 30 days after treatment (DAT). Major six classes of hormone compounds of the young stems in cherry rootstocks, treated with rac-GR24 or TIS108 at 30 days after treatment (DAT). Data are shown as mean ± standard deviation (SD) of three replicates. Statistical significance determined by one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA); significant differences among means (LSD, p < 0.05) are indicated with different lowercase letters.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Transcriptional changes in cherry rootstocks stems at 30 days after treatment (DAT) with GR24 or TIS108. Expression profiles of genes in cherry rootstocks plantlets treated with 0.1 μM rac-GR24 (S1), 10 μM rac-GR24 (S2), and 10 μM TIS108 (T) are shown by the heatmap (A). Volcano map of S1 (B), S2 (C), and T (D) groups. Red and green histograms represent the log2fold-change values of up- and down-regulated genes, respectively. The Gray scatter plot shows the log2fold-change values of the non-differentially expressed genes. (E) Number of up regulated and down regulated genes in rac-GR24 or TIS108 treatments. Venn diagrams show the proportions of all (F), up regulated (G), and down regulated (H) DEGs in three treatments. CK, control group.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Expression profiles of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) related to strigolactones (SLs) and brassinosteroid (BR) synthesis, and signal transduction pathways. The scale of the color intensity is in the lower-right quarter of the heatmap, representing the log2fold-change values. Fold-change refers to the ratio of gene expression levels in cherry rootstocks stems between the control (CK) and treatment (S1/S2/T).
Figure 6
Figure 6
Heatmap represents expression profiles of DEGs related to gibberellin (GA) biosynthesis, deactivation, and signaling pathways. The scale of color intensity is shown in the lower-left quarter of the heatmap, representing the log2fold-change values. Fold-change refers to the ratio of gene expression levels in cherry rootstocks stems between control (CK) and treatment (S1/S2/T).
Figure 7
Figure 7
Expression profiles of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) related to 3-Indoleacetic acid (IAA) biosynthesis, and signaling pathways are shown by a heatmap. The scale of color intensity is shown in the lower-left quarter of the heatmap representing the log2fold-change values. Fold-change refers to the ratio of gene expression levels in cherry rootstocks stems between control (CK) and treatment (S1/S2/T).
Figure 8
Figure 8
Expression profiles of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) related to abscisic acid (ABA) biosynthesis and signaling pathways are represented by a heatmap. The scale of color intensity is shown in the lower-left quarter of the heatmap representing the log2fold-change values. Fold-change refers to the ratio of gene expression levels in cherry rootstocks stems between control (CK) and treatment (S1/S2/T).
Figure 9
Figure 9
Heatmap showed the expression profiles of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) related to cell growth and cell expansion. The scale of color intensity is shown in the lower-left corner of the heatmap representing the log2fold-change values. Fold-change refers to the ratio of gene expression levels in cherry rootstocks stems between control (CK) and treatment (S1/S2/T).
Figure 10
Figure 10
Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) validation of gene expression levels of 20 selected DEGs related to different hormone pathways, cell elongation, and cell development. The data represent means ± standard deviation (SD) of three replicates. Statistical significance was determined by one-way ANOVA; significant differences among means (LSD, p < 0.05) are indicated by different lowercase letters.
Figure 11
Figure 11
Correlation analysis between endogenous hormone contents and gene expression levels (p < 0.05).
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