Abstract
Key message
The homologs of VASCULAR RELATED NAC-DOMAIN in the peat moss Sphagnum palustre were identified and these transcriptional activity as the VNS family was conserved.
Abstract
In angiosperms, xylem vessel element differentiation is governed by the master regulators VASCULAR RELATED NAC-DOMAIN6 (VND6) and VND7, encoding plant-specific NAC transcription factors. Although vessel elements have not been found in bryophytes, differentiation of the water-conducting hydroid cells in the moss Physcomitrella patens is regulated by VND homologs termed VND-NST-SOMBRERO (VNS) genes. VNS genes are conserved in the land plant lineage, but their functions have not been elucidated outside of angiosperms and P. patens. The peat moss Sphagnum palustre, of class Sphagnopsida in the phylum Bryophyta, does not have hydroids and instead uses hyaline cells with thickened, helical-patterned cell walls and pores to store water in the leaves. Here, we performed whole-transcriptome analysis and de novo assembly using next generation sequencing in S. palustre, obtaining sequences for 68,305 genes. Among them, we identified seven VNS-like genes, SpVNS1-A, SpVNS1-B, SpVNS2-A, SpVNS2-B, SpVNS3-A, SpVNS3-B, and SpVNS4-A. Transient expression of these VNS-like genes, with the exception of SpVNS2-A, in Nicotiana benthamiana leaf cells resulted in ectopic thickening of secondary walls. This result suggests that the transcriptional activity observed in other VNS family members is functionally conserved in the VNS homologs of S. palustre.
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Data availability
The datasets generated and analyzed during the current study are publicly available in the DNA Data Bank of Japan (DDBJ) database under accession numbers DRA009217 (http://trace.ddbj.nig.ac.jp/DRASearch/submission?acc=DRA009217) for RNA-seq data; ICRE01000001-ICRE01191610 (https://www.ddbj.nig.ac.jp/news/en/2021-01-12_4-e.html) for transcript references of S. palustre; and LC485459, LC485460, LC485461, LC485462, LC485463, LC485464, and LC485465 (http://getentry.ddbj.nig.ac.jp/getentry/na/LC485459%20-%20LC485465?filetype=html) for SpVNS genes.
Abbreviations
- VND:
-
VASCULAR RELATED NAC-DOMAIN
- NST:
-
NAC SECONDARY WALL THICKENING PROMOTING FACTOR
- VNS:
-
VND-NST-SOMBRERO
- NGS:
-
Next generation sequencing
- PE:
-
Paired-end
- YFP:
-
Yellow fluorescent protein
- RFP:
-
Red fluorescent protein
- H2B:
-
Histone H2B
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Acknowledgements
We are grateful to Drs. Masaki Shimamura at Hiroshima University and Yoshikazu Hoshi at Tokai University for their useful discussions on morphology and cultivation of Sphagnum, and to Drs. Ko Kato, Arata Yoneda, and Tadashi Kunieda at Nara Institute of Science and Technology for their useful comments. We thank Ms. Ritsuko Okamoto for her technical assistance. The computational analyses were partially performed on the NIG supercomputer at the ROIS National Institute of Genetics.
Funding
This work was supported by Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) [KAKENHI, JP20K06669 to M.K., JP25291062 and JP18H02466 to T.D.], by MEXT [KAKENHI, JP24114002 to T.D., JP18H05484 and JP18H05489 to M.O. and T.D.], and by Nara Institute of Science and Technology [Humanophilic Innovation Project to M.K., T.D., Big Data Project to M.K.].
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The authors contributed to this paper as follows: study conception and design: MK, TD; data collection: ST, MK, NA, RS, TN, SS, MO; analysis and interpretation of results: ST, MK, RS, MO; drafted the manuscript: MK, TD. All authors reviewed the results and approved the final version of the manuscript.
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Terada, S., Kubo, M., Akiyoshi, N. et al. Expression of peat moss VASCULAR RELATED NAC-DOMAIN homologs in Nicotiana benthamiana leaf cells induces ectopic secondary wall formation. Plant Mol Biol 106, 309–317 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11103-021-01148-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11103-021-01148-6