Abstract
Stevia is primarily propagated through stem cuttings, and root growth in cuttings is vital for stevia to survive in the field. However, the genetic regulatory mechanism governing the root growth of stevia cuttings has not been fully elucidated to date. In this study, we isolated the AP2/ERF transcription factor SrERF5, which is a member of the B-3 subfamily with a typical AP2 domain. We observed that SrERF5 is specifically localized in the nucleus and exhibits relatively weak transactivation activity in yeast cells. The transcript of SrERF5 was determined to predominantly accumulate in roots and leaves, but was only detected at low levels in flowers, nodes and internodes. The transcription level of SrERF5 was elevated in the process of rooting and subsequently decreased at the late developmental stage. Constitutive expression of SrERF5 in Arabidopsis was observed to partly inhibit primary root growth through regulation of the expression levels of YUC genes. Taken together, the results of our study indicate that SrERF5 is a root growth modulator and may help to elucidate the regulatory mechanism and breeding manipulation of the rooting of stem cuttings in Stevia rebaudiana.
Key message
This study was the first to isolate and functionally characterize a rooting-related AP2/ERF transcription factor in stevia, and this protein may represent a candidate essential regulator of root development in stem cuttings.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abdullateef RA, Osman M (2011) Effects of stem cutting types, position and hormonal factors on rooting in Stevia Rebaudiana Bertoni. J AGR SCI 4(1):49
Aida M, Beis D, Heidstra R et al (2004) The PLETHORA genes mediate patterning of the Arabidopsis root stem cell niche. Cell 119:109–120
Ceunen S, Geuns JM (2013) Steviol glycosides: chemical diversity, metabolism, and function. J Nat Prod 76:1201–1228
Chalapathi MV, Thimmegowda S, Kumar ND et al (2001) Influence of length of cutting and growth regulators on vegetative propagation of stevia (Stevia rebaudiana Bert.). Crop Res 21:53–56
Chalapathi MV, Thimmegowda S, Kumar ND et al (1999) Vegetative propagation of stevia (Stevia rebaudiana) under field conditions. Crop Res 18:319–320
Chen Q, Dai X, De-Paoli H et al (2014) Auxin overproduction in shoots cannot rescue auxin deficiencies in Arabidopsis roots. Plant Cell Physiol 55(6):1072–1079
Cheng Y, Dai X, Zhao Y (2006) Auxin biosynthesis by the YUCCA flavin monooxygenases controls the formation of floral organs and vascular tissues in Arabidopsis. Genes Dev 20:1790–1799
Cheng Y, Dai X, Zhao Y (2007) Auxin synthesized by the YUCCA flavin monooxygenases is essential for embryogenesis and leaf formation in Arabidopsis. Plant Cell 19:2430–2439
Clough SJ, Bent AF (1998) Floral dip a simplified method for Agrobacterium mediated transformation of Arabidopsis thaliana. Plant J 16 (6): 735e743
Galinha C, Hofhuis H, Luijten M et al (2007) PLETHORA proteins as dose-dependent master regulators of Arabidopsis root development. Nature 449:1053–1057
Hossain MF, Islam MT, Islam MA et al (2017) Cultivation and uses of stevia ( Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni): a review. Afr J Food Agric Nutr Dev 17(4):12745–12757
Livak KJ, Schmittgen TD (2001) Analysis of relative gene expression data using real-time quantitative PCR and the 2− ΔΔCT method. Methods 25:402–408
Mizoi J, Shinozaki K, Yamaguchishinozaki K (2012) AP2/ERF family transcription factors in plant abiotic stress responses. Biochim Biophy Acta 1819(2):86–96. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbagrm.2011.08.004
Motte H, Vanneste S, Beeckman T (2019) Molecular and environmental regulation of root development. Annu Rev Plant Biol 70(1):465–488
Ortega-Martinez O, Pernas M, Carol RJ et al (2007) Ethylene modulates stem cell division in the Arabidopsis thaliana root. Science 317:507–510
Petricka JJ, Winter CM, Benfey PN (2012) Control of Arabidopsis root development. Annu Rev of Plant Biol 63(1):563–590
Raines T, Shanks C, Cheng CY et al (2016) The cytokinin response factors modulate root and shoot growth and promote leaf senescence in Arabidopsis. Plant J 85(1):134–147
Sabatini S, Heidstra R, Wildwater M et al (2003) SCARECROW is involved in positioning the stem cell niche in the Arabidopsis root meristem. Genes Dev 17:354–358
Shaffert EE, Chebotar AA (1994) Structure, topography and ontogeny of Stevia rebaudiana. Bot Zhurnal 79:3848
Sakuma Y, Liu Q, Dubouzet JG et al (2002) DNA-binding specificity of the ERF/AP2 domain of Arabidopsis DREBs, transcription factors involved in dehydration- and cold-inducible gene expression. Biochem Bioph Res Co 290(3):998–1009
Shock CC (1982) Rebaudi’s stevia: natural non-caloric sweeteners. California Agric 36:45
Stepanova AN, Hoyt JM, Hamilton AA et al (2005) A link between ethylene and auxin uncovered by the characterization of two root-specific ethylene-insensitive mutants in Arabidopsis. Plant Cell 17:2230–2242
Stepanova AN, Robertson-Hoyt J, Yun J et al (2008) TAA1-mediated auxin biosynthesis is essential for hormone crosstalk and plant development. Cell 133:177–191
Tao Q, Niu H, Wang Z et al (2018) Ethylene responsive factor ERF110 mediates ethylene-regulated transcription of a sex determination-related orthologous gene in two Cucumis species. J Exp Bot 69:2953–2965
Tamura K, Peterson D, Peterson N et al (2011) MEGA5: molecular evolutionary genetics analysis using maximum likelihood, evolutionary distance, and maximum parsimony methods. Mol Biol Evol 28:2731–2739
Yadav AK, Singh S, Dhyani D et al (2011) A review on the improvement of stevia [Stevia rebaudiana (Bertoni)]. Can J Plant Sci 91:1–27
Yadav SK, Guleria P (2012) Steviol glycosides from Stevia: biosynthesis pathway review and their application in foods and medicine. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr 52:988–998
Zhang T, Qu Y, Wang H (2017) The heterologous expression of a chrysanthemum TCP-P transcription factor CmTCP14 suppresses organ size and delays senescence in Arabidopsis thaliana. Plant Physiol Biochem 115:239–248
Zhou X, Zhang Z, Park J et al (2016) The ERF11 transcription factor promotes internode elongation by activating gibberellin biosynthesis and signaling. Plant Physiol 171(4):2760–2770
Zubenko VF, Rogovskii SV, Chudnovskii BD (1991) Stimulation of rooting of Stevia cuttings and growth of the transplants by phytohormones. VI Lenina 2:16–18
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31901597) and the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (BK20201243).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
The project was conceived and designed by HY. TZ, YY, XX, YS, MH and YW performed the experiments. TZ, YZ and LL analyzed the data. TZ and CG wrote the manuscript.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.
Additional information
Communicated by Manoj Prasad.
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Supplementary Information
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Zhang, T., Yang, Y., Gu, C. et al. Heterologous expression of stevia SrERF5 inhibits root growth in Arabidopsis thaliana. Plant Cell Tiss Organ Cult 147, 1–8 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11240-021-02090-7
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11240-021-02090-7