Abstract
Arabidopsis thaliana blue-light inhibitor of cryptochromes 1 (AtBIC1) suppresses the dimerization of cryptochromes, which is necessary for cryptochrome function in plants. Additionally, AtBIC1 interacts with brassinazole-resistant 1 (BZR1) and phytochrome-interacting factor 4 (PIF4) transcription factors for integrating brassinosteroid (BR) and light signaling to promote plant growth. Thus, AtBIC1 overexpression is postulated to facilitate a desirable plant architecture for a high yield of crops. We first confirmed the phenotypes of transgenic Arabidopsis plants overexpressing AtBIC1, showing increases in leaf growth, plant height, and seed productivity. Next, we applied the AtBIC1 overexpression approach to soybean as a target crop. The transgenic soybean plants overexpressing AtBIC1 exhibited a significantly tall phenotype (i.e., an increased plant height) but with reduced root growth. In particular, the transgenic soybean plants displayed altered plant architecture, such as greatly elongated hypocotyls, during growth under both greenhouse and field conditions. Due to the phenotype of increased plant height, the total seed weights from the transgenic soybean plants decreased. These results suggest that the greater growth of above-ground parts might result in diminished growth of underground parts (i.e., roots), reducing the seed productivity of soybean. Collectively, these results suggest that AtBIC1 overexpression functions similarly in elongated growth to increase plant heights in both Arabidopsis and soybean, whereas it functions differently in root growth between the two plants.
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korean government (MSIT) (NRF-2020R1A2C2010057 granted to Y.S. Chung) and Green Fusion Technology Program funded by Ministry of Environment, and in part by the Mid-career Researcher Program (NRF-2021R1A2C1012562 granted to J.I. Kim) through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Korean government (MSIT) in the Republic of Korea.
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Supplementary file1 Supplementary Fig. 1. Seed productivity of transgenic Arabidopsis overexpressing Arabidopsis thaliana blue-light inhibitor of cryptochromes 1 (AtBIC1) gene. a Representative siliques of wild-type (Col-0) and transgenic plant overexpressing AtBIC1 (35S:AtBIC1). Scale bar, 5 mm. b Measurement of average silique weights. Data represent means ± SD (n ≥ 30). Statistically significantly difference compared with Col-0 is indicated by asterisk (*) when P < 0.05. c Images of harvested seeds. Scale bar = 1 mm. (JPG 115 kb)
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Supplementary file2 Supplementary Fig. 2. T1 seeds harvested from transgenic soybean plants with AtBIC1. From transgenic plants (T0) grown in the greenhouse, T1 seeds of transgenic lines (#1 to #20) were harvested. (JPG 187 kb)
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Supplementary file3 Supplementary Fig. 3. Measurements of plant height, fresh weight, and root weight using individual plants of T2 transgenic lines with AtBIC1. Seeds of NT and transgenic plants were grown in the growth chamber, and plant height, fresh weight, and root weight were measured after 3 weeks. The individual plants used in this study originated from T2 transgenic lines #7 (a), #9 (b), #10 (c), and #15 (d). NT, non-transgenic soybean plant. 7, 6, 3, and 19 plants from T2 transgenic lines #7, #9, #10, and 15 were used for the analysis. (JPG 204 kb)
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Supplementary file4 Supplementary Fig. 4. Measurements of hypocotyl lengths from soybean plants grown in the GMO field. Hypocotyl lengths were measured from the soybean plants in flowering season (planted in June 23rd and measured in August 16). NT, non-transgenic soybean plant; #10-2, #10-3, #15-1, and #15-2, transgenic lines (T2) with AtBIC1. Data represent means ± SD (n ≥ 10), and statistically difference compared with NT is indicated by asterisk (**) when P < 0.01. (JPG 33 kb)
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Supplementary file5 Supplementary Fig. 5. Root phenotypes of Arabidopsis plants. The photographs of roots were taken with 6-week-old plants grown on soil under long-day conditions (22°C with a 16-h photoperiod). Scale bar = 5 cm. (JPG 87 kb)
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Cho, H.S., Lee, Y.J., Kim, H.J. et al. Overexpression of Arabidopsis thaliana blue-light inhibitor of cryptochromes 1 gene alters plant architecture in soybean. Plant Biotechnol Rep 15, 459–469 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11816-021-00693-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11816-021-00693-2