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TaEPFL1, an EPIDERMAL PATTERNING FACTOR-LIKE (EPFL) secreted peptide gene, is required for stamen development in wheat

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Abstract

Members of the EPIDERMAL PATTERNING FACTOR-LIKE (EPFL) family play diverse roles in plant growth and development, including the guidance of inflorescence architecture and pedicel length. In this work, we identified and characterized the EFPL gene TaEPFL1 from the wheat pistillody mutant HTS-1. Sequence alignment and phylogenetic analysis indicated that TaEPFL1 belongs to the EPFL1 gene. Quantitative real-time RT-PCR analysis showed that the TaEPFL1 gene is expressed at an abnormally high level in pistillody stamens compared with that in pistils and stamens. Heterologous expression of the TaEPFL1 gene in Arabidopsis caused shortened filaments and pedicels and might reduce the level of AtACO2 gene expression. These results suggest that TaEPFL1 plays an important role in the development of stamen and that overexpression of TaEPFL1 results in abnormal stamens. We deduced that the overexpression of the TaEPFL1 gene may contribute to the homeotic transformation of stamens into pistils or pistil-like structures in wheat. These data offer insights into the molecular mechanism of pistillody mutation in wheat.

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Abbreviations

EPFL:

EPIDERMAL PATTERNING FACTOR-LIKE

HTS-1:

Homologous transformation sterility-1

Col-0:

Arabidopsis thaliana ecotype Columbia

ACO:

1-Aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate oxidase

ACS:

1-Aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate synthase

SAM:

S-Adenosyl-l-methionine synthase

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant number 31760425), Foundation of Science and Technology department of Sichuan Province, China (Grant number 16JC022), National General Cultivation Project of China West Normal University (Grant number 17C043), and the Innovation Team Project of Education Department of Sichuan Province (Grant number 16TD0020).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Southwest China Wildlife Resources Conservation (Ministry of Education), College of Life Science, China West Normal University, Nanchong, 637009, Sichuan, People’s Republic of China

    Qingxu Sun, Yan Yu, Zaijun Yang, Shuhong Wei, Yilei Wu & Jun Yang

  2. School of Agricultural Science, Xichang University, Xichang, 615000, Sichuan, People’s Republic of China

    Jipeng Qu & Zhengsong Peng

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  1. Qingxu Sun
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  2. Jipeng Qu
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  3. Yan Yu
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  4. Zaijun Yang
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Correspondence to Zaijun Yang.

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Sun, Q., Qu, J., Yu, Y. et al. TaEPFL1, an EPIDERMAL PATTERNING FACTOR-LIKE (EPFL) secreted peptide gene, is required for stamen development in wheat. Genetica 147, 121–130 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10709-019-00061-7

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