毛竹miR164b前体的克隆及其在叶形态建成中的功能分析

microRNA（miRNA）参与植物多种生理代谢过程,在调控植物形态建成中发挥着重要作用。miR164作为植物特有的miRNA,其主要的靶基因是NAC转录因子,参与调控植物茎、叶顶端分生组织的建立、器官的分化和植株衰老等过程。本研究以毛竹（Phyllostachys edulis（Carr.） Lehaie）为材料,从中分离出miR164b的前体序列（82 bp）,二级结构分析结果发现该前体序列能够形成稳定的茎环结构,其成熟序列（21 bp）产生于茎环结构5'端的臂上,且碱基具有较高的保守性。本研究还构建了由CaMV 35S启动,包含毛竹miR164b前体序列的植物表达载体,并转化野生型拟南芥（Arabidopsis thaliana（L.） Heynh）,获得了转基因植株。结果表明,转基因植株生长瘦弱,莲座叶数量明显减少,叶片变小且叶片边缘锯齿减少,更加光滑。实时定量PCR分析结果显示,转基因拟南芥中毛竹miR164b的表达量极显著上升,而拟南芥内源靶基因CUC1与CUC2的表达量极显著下降。表明毛竹miR164b通过调节CUC1和CUC2的表达来参与植物叶形态建成过程。研究结果可为利用miRNA开展竹子分子育种提供参考。     

Overexpression of microRNA319 impacts leaf morphogenesis and leads to enhanced cold tolerance in rice (Oryza sativa L.)

MicroRNA319 (miR319) family is one of the conserved microRNA (miRNA) families among diverse plant species. It has been reported that miR319 regulates plant development in dicotyledons, but little is known at present about its functions in monocotyledons. In rice (Oryza sativa L.), the MIR319 gene family comprises two members, Osa‐MIR319a and Osa‐MIR319b. Here, we report an expression pattern analysis and a functional characterization of the two Osa‐MIR319 genes in rice. We found that overexpressing Osa‐MIR319a and Osa‐MIR319b in rice both resulted in wider leaf blades. Leaves of osa‐miR319 overexpression transgenic plants showed an increased number of longitudinal small veins, which probably accounted for the increased leaf blade width. In addition, we observed that overexpressing osa‐miR319 led to enhanced cold tolerance (4 °C) after chilling acclimation (12 °C) in transgenic rice seedlings. Notably, under both 4 and 12 °C low temperatures, Osa‐MIR319a and Osa‐MIR319b were down‐regulated while the expression of miR319‐targeted genes was induced. Furthermore, genetically down‐regulating the expression of either of the two miR319‐targeted genes, OsPCF5 and OsPCF8, in RNA interference (RNAi) plants also resulted in enhanced cold tolerance after chilling acclimation. Our findings in this study demonstrate that miR319 plays important roles in leaf morphogenesis and cold tolerance in rice.     

Mutation of Oryza sativa CORONATINE INSENSITIVE 1b (OsCOI1b) delays leaf senescence

Jasmonic acid (JA) functions in plant development, including senescence and immunity. Arabidopsis thaliana CORONATINE INSENSITIVE 1 encodes a JA receptor and functions in the JA‐responsive signaling pathway. The Arabidopsis genome harbors a single COI gene, but the rice (Oryza sativa) genome harbors three COI homologs, OsCOI1a, OsCOI1b, and OsCOI2. Thus, it remains unclear whether each OsCOI has distinct, additive, synergistic, or redundant functions in development. Here, we use the oscoi1b‐1 knockout mutants to show that OsCOI1b mainly affects leaf senescence under senescence‐promoting conditions. oscoi1b‐1 mutants stayed green during dark‐induced and natural senescence, with substantial retention of chlorophylls and photosynthetic capacity. Furthermore, several senescence‐associated genes were downregulated in oscoi1b‐1 mutants, including homologs of Arabidopsis thaliana ETHYLENE INSENSITIVE 3 and ORESARA 1, important regulators of leaf senescence. These results suggest that crosstalk between JA signaling and ethylene signaling affects leaf senescence. The Arabidopsis coi1‐1 plants containing 35S:OsCOI1a or 35S:OsCOI1b rescued the delayed leaf senescence during dark incubation, suggesting that both OsCOI1a and OsCOI1b are required for promoting leaf senescence in rice. oscoi1b‐1 mutants showed significant decreases in spikelet fertility and grain weight, leading to severe reduction of grain yield, indicating that OsCOI1‐mediated JA signaling affects spikelet fertility and grain filling.