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Steroid-inducible BABY BOOM system for development of fertile Arabidopsis thaliana plants after prolonged tissue culture

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Abstract

Key message

We describe a steroid-inducible BABY BOOM system that improves plant regeneration in Arabidopsis leaf cultures and yields fertile plants.

Abstract

Regeneration of Arabidopsis thaliana plants for extended periods of time in tissue culture may result in sterile plants. We report here a novel approach for A. thaliana regeneration using a regulated system to induce embryogenic cultures from leaf tissue. The system is based on BABY BOOM (BBM), a transcription factor that turns on genes involved in embryogenesis. We transformed the nucleus of A. thaliana plants with BBM:GR, a gene in which the BBM coding region is fused with the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) steroid-binding domain. In the absence of the synthetic steroid dexamethasone (DEX), the BBM:GR fusion protein is localized in the cytoplasm. Only when DEX is included in the culture medium does the BBM transcription factor enter the nucleus and turn on genes involved in embryogenesis. BBM:GR plant lines show prolific shoot regeneration from leaf pieces on media containing DEX. Removal of DEX from the culture media allowed for flowering and seed formation. Therefore, use of BBM:GR leaf tissue for regeneration of plants for extended periods of time in tissue culture will facilitate the recovery of fertile plants.

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Abbreviations

A. thaliana :

Arabidopsis thaliana

ARM:

A. thaliana tissue culture media

BBM:

BABY BOOM

BA:

Benzyladenine

DEX:

Dexamethasone

GR:

Glucocorticoid receptor

IAA:

Indoleacetic acid

IPA:

Isopentenyladenine

Ler :

Landsberg erecta

ptDNA:

Plastid genome

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the NSF Eukaryotic Genetics Program (MCB—039958 to PM) and the Theresa Patnode Santmann Faculty Development Award in Bioscience (to KL). We thank Dr. Frances Santiago-Schwarz and Synthia Gratia for their assistance in the preparation of the nuclei for the BBM:GFP:GR targeting analysis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Farmingdale State College, Hale Hall, 2350 Broadhollow Road, Farmingdale, NY, 11735, USA

    Kerry A. Lutz, Carla Martin & Sahar Khairzada

  2. Rutgers The State University of NJ, Waksman Institute of Microbiology, 190 Frelinghuysen Road, Piscataway, NJ, 08854, USA

    Pal Maliga

Authors
  1. Kerry A. Lutz
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  2. Carla Martin
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  3. Sahar Khairzada
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  4. Pal Maliga
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Correspondence to Kerry A. Lutz.

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Communicated by A. Dhingra.

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Lutz, K.A., Martin, C., Khairzada, S. et al. Steroid-inducible BABY BOOM system for development of fertile Arabidopsis thaliana plants after prolonged tissue culture. Plant Cell Rep 34, 1849–1856 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00299-015-1832-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00299-015-1832-7

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