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Transformation of kiwifruit using the ipt gene alters tree architecture

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Abstract

To manipulate the architecture of woody plants by controlling endogenous cytokinin levels, the isopentenyl transferase gene (ipt) from Agrobacterim tumefaciens was introduced to kiwifruit using stable transformation. Consequently, eight transgenic lines were obtained. Transgenic shoots harboring the ipt gene were recalcitrant to rooting under tissue-culture conditions; thus, their in vitro-cultivated shoots were directly grafted onto potted wild-type kiwifruit seedlings to evaluate their morphological features, and three lines (tmr2-4, tmr2-G, tmr3-C) were successfully grafted. The grafted transgenic plants had dwarfing and branching phenotypes, both of which are typical features of cytokinin overproduction. In addition, the number of buds increased and internode length was shorter in the grafted transgenic plants. The content of a precursor, trans-zeatin riboside, and an active cytokinin, trans-zeatin, increased in one transgenic line, in which the level of ipt gene expression was high, indicating that morphological changes were related to expression levels of the ipt gene and cytokinin content. Possibilities for potential utilization of the ipt gene in manipulating tree shape are discussed.

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Abbreviations

4-Cl-IAA:

4-Chloroindole-3-acetic acid

CaMV:

Cauliflower mosaic virus

DIG:

Digoxigenin

DZ:

Dihydrozeatin

DZR:

Dihydrozeatin riboside

DZR9G:

Dihydrozeatin riboside-9-glucoside

DZROG:

Dihydrozeatin riboside-O-glucoside

iP:

Isopentenyl adenine

iP9G:

Isopentenyl adenine-9-glucoside

iPR:

N(6)-(delta(2)-isopentenyl)adenine

ipt :

Isopentenyl transferase

RT–PCR:

Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction

tZ :

Trans-zeatin

tZ7G:

Trans-zeatin-7-glucoside

tZ9G:

Trans-zeatin-9-glucoside

tZOG:

Trans-zeatin-O-glucoside

tZORG:

Trans-zeatin riboside-O-glucoside

tZR:

Trans-zeatin riboside

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Acknowledgments

We thank Ms. K. Monma and M. Kimura for their experimental assistance. This work was supported by a grant from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Institute of Fruit Tree Science, Morioka, Iwate, 020-0123, Japan

    Chikako Honda

  2. National Institute of Fruit Tree Science, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8605, Japan

    Shinnosuke Kusaba & Takaya Moriguchi

  3. National Institute of Floricultural Science, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8519, Japan

    Takaaki Nishijima

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  1. Chikako Honda
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  2. Shinnosuke Kusaba
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  3. Takaaki Nishijima
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  4. Takaya Moriguchi
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Correspondence to Chikako Honda.

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Honda, C., Kusaba, S., Nishijima, T. et al. Transformation of kiwifruit using the ipt gene alters tree architecture. Plant Cell Tiss Organ Cult 107, 45–53 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11240-011-9956-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11240-011-9956-0

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