Tropical Plant Biology

, Volume 8, Issue 1–2, pp 19–30 | Cite as

Expression Profile of Sugarcane Transcription Factor Genes Involved in Lignin Biosynthesis

  • Michael Santos Brito
  • Paula Macedo Nobile
  • Alexandra Bottcher
  • Adriana Brombini dos Santos
  • Silvana Creste
  • Marcos Guimarães Andrade de Landell
  • Michel Vincentz
  • Renato Vicentini
  • Paulo Mazzafera
Article
First Online:
Received:
Accepted:

Abstract

Cell wall recalcitrance, which is conferred in part by lignin, is the main bottleneck in lignocellulosic ethanol production. Transcription factors (TFs) have been suggested as targets to reduce or modify lignin. Here we analysed the expression profile of nine sugarcane TFs, their relationships with genes of the monolignol biosynthesis pathway, and their effects on lignin content and composition. Our assays compared two sugarcane genotypes with different lignin contents. To identify differences between tissue types and between the top and bottom of the plant, the culm was divided into intermediary and mature internodes, and the internodes were separated into pith and rind. The expression profiles obtained for the nine TFs were rather complex, showing that not only the genotype but also the tissue type and developmental stage influenced the results. Pearson correlation analysis indicated that ShMYB58/63 was positively correlated with the syringyl/guaiacyl ratio. In addition, a Bayesian network showed predicted interactions between the TFs and genes for lignin biosynthesis that were previously reported in the literature, as well as novel interactions such as those between ShMYB58/63 and ShF5H. These findings suggest that in sugarcane culm, the differential lignin deposition between tissue types (rind and pith) and at different developmental stages is under transcriptional regulation.

Keywords

Transcription factor Lignin Sugarcane Saccharum spp Pith Rind 

Abbreviations

TF

Transcription factor

NAC

(NAM, ATAF, CUC2)

S/G

Syringyl/Guaiacyl

IP

Intermediary pith

IR

Intermediary rind

MP

Mature pith

MR

Mature rind

SWN

Secondary wall NAC

(SHN)

SHINE

4CL

4-coumarate:coenzyme A ligase

CCoAOMT

caffeoyl-CoA 3-O-methyltransferase

CCR2

cinnamoyl-CoA reductase

C4H

cinnamate-4-hydroxylase

HCT

hydroxycinnamoyl-CoA shikimate/quinate hydroxycinnamoyl transferase

F5H

Ferulate 5-hydroxylase

qPCR

Quantitative PCR

A.U.

Arbitrary units.

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Notes

Acknowledgments

MSB and PMN thank the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) for post-doctoral fellowships. PM, RV and MV thank CNPq-Brazil for researcher fellowships and FAPESP for financial support (BIOEN grant 2008/58035-6 to PM and grant 2008/58031-0 to RV). The authors thank Pedro Araújo for critical reading of the manuscript, Laerti Reis Roque for helping with the RNA extraction and cDNA production, and Ivan dos Anjos for helping with the sugarcane cultivation.

Supplementary material

12042_2015_9147_MOESM1_ESM.docx (238 kb)
Supplementary Fig. S1 A phylogenetic tree of the MYB transcription factors. (DOCX 237 kb)
12042_2015_9147_MOESM2_ESM.docx (211 kb)
Supplementary Fig. S2 A phylogenetic tree of the NAC transcription factors. (DOCX 210 kb)
12042_2015_9147_MOESM3_ESM.docx (75 kb)
Supplementary Fig. S3 A phylogenetic tree of the KNOTTED transcription factors. (DOCX 75 kb)
12042_2015_9147_MOESM4_ESM.docx (151 kb)
Supplementary Fig. S4 A phylogenetic tree of the AP2/EREBP transcription factors. (DOCX 151 kb)
12042_2015_9147_MOESM5_ESM.docx (26 kb)
Supplementary Table S1 SUCEST database BLAST results using Arabidopsis TFs as bait. (DOCX 25 kb)
12042_2015_9147_MOESM6_ESM.docx (41 kb)
Supplementary Table S2 Complete statistical data obtained using the REST tool. (DOCX 40 kb)

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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media New York 2015

Authors and Affiliations

  • Michael Santos Brito
    • 1
    • 2
  • Paula Macedo Nobile
    • 1
    • 2
  • Alexandra Bottcher
    • 1
  • Adriana Brombini dos Santos
    • 1
  • Silvana Creste
    • 2
  • Marcos Guimarães Andrade de Landell
    • 2
  • Michel Vincentz
    • 1
    • 3
  • Renato Vicentini
    • 3
  • Paulo Mazzafera
    • 1
  1. 1.Departamento de Biologia Vegetal, Instituto de Biologia, CP 6109Universidade Estadual de CampinasCampinasBrazil
  2. 2.Centro Avançado da Pesquisa Tecnológica do Agronegócio de Cana, CP 206Ribeirão PretoBrazil
  3. 3.Centro de Biologia Molecular e Engenharia GenéticaCEBMEG - Universidade Estadual de CampinasCampinasBrazil

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