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Poplar GATA transcription factor PdGNC is capable of regulating chloroplast ultrastructure, photosynthesis, and vegetative growth in Arabidopsis under varying nitrogen levels

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An Erratum to this article was published on 04 September 2014

Abstract

Photosynthesis and nitrogen availability are crucial to the accumulation of biomass. The GATA transcription factor family plays important roles in chloroplast development and nitrogen metabolism. Here, we cloned, for the first time, the GATA transcription factor PdGNC from the fast-growing poplar clone NE-19. The overexpression results from Arabidopsis under high nitrate, sufficient nitrate, and low nitrate (LN) support that PdGNC increased the chloroplast number and size per cell in leaf and stem, improved the chlorophyll level by 26.12 % and exhibited the highest starch content in LN. Overexpression of PdGNC also had pronounced effects on chloroplast ultrastructure by increasing the number of grana and thylakoids. The photosynthetic rate in transgenic LN lines was 42.17 % higher than in the wild type through modification of the chlorophyll fluorescence parameters Fv/F0, Fv/Fm, qP, NPQ, and ΦPSII. Morphologically, PdGNC promoted longer primary roots and larger leaf areas, and exhibited a higher relative growth rate in LN. Altogether, PdGNC improved photosynthetic capacity and plant growth under low nitrate levels; thus, it could potentially be used in transgenic breeding to improve nitrate utilization and plant growth rates under limited nitrogen conditions.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the Hi-Tech Research and Development Program of China (2013AA102701), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31270656), 111 Project of Beijing Forestry University (B13007), Programs for Scientific Research and Graduate Training from BMEC (Regulation of Tree WUE) and Program for Changjiang Scholars and Innovative Research Team in University (IRT13047). We thank Dongchao Zheng, Dun Zhang, Congpeng Wang, and Fuling Lv for their technical assistance and helpful discussions.

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  1. National Engineering Laboratory for Tree Breeding, College of Biological Sciences and Technology, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, China

    Yi An, Xiao Han, Sha Tang, Xinli Xia & Weilun Yin

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  1. Yi An
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  2. Xiao Han
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Correspondence to Xinli Xia.

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An, Y., Han, X., Tang, S. et al. Poplar GATA transcription factor PdGNC is capable of regulating chloroplast ultrastructure, photosynthesis, and vegetative growth in Arabidopsis under varying nitrogen levels. Plant Cell Tiss Organ Cult 119, 313–327 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11240-014-0536-y

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