Abstract
Red coleoptile is an easily observed agronomic trait of wheat and has been extensively studied. However, the molecular mechanism of this trait has not yet been revealed. In this study, the MYB gene TaMYB-D1 was isolated from the wheat cultivar ‘Gy115’, which possesses red coleoptiles. This gene resided at the short arm of the homoelogous group 7 chromosomes. TaMYB-D1 was the only gene expressed in the coleoptiles of ‘Gy115’ and was not expressed in ‘Opata’ and ‘CS’, which have uncoloured coleoptiles. Phylogenetic analysis placed TaMYB-D1 very close to ZmC1 and other MYB proteins regulating anthocyanin biosynthesis. The encoded protein of TaMYB-D1 had an integrated DNA binding domain of 102 amino acids and a transcription domain with 42 amino acids, similar to the structure of ZmC1. Transient expression analysis in onion epidermal cells showed that TaMYB-D1 was located at the plant nucleus, which suggested its role as a transcription factor. The expression of TaMYB-D1 was accompanied with the expression of TaDFR and anthocyanin biosynthesis in the development of the coleoptile of ‘Gy115’. Transient expression analysis showed that only TaMYB-D1 induced a few ‘Opata’ coleoptile cells to synthesize anthocyanin in light, and the gene also induced a colour change to red in many cells with the help of ZmR. All of these results suggested TaMYB-D1 as the candidate gene for the red coleoptile trait of ‘Gy115’.
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Acknowledgements
This research was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (no. 31071417, 31260322), the West Light Foundation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Pilot Projects of Designer Breeding by Molecular Modules, Chinese Academy of Sciences.
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Wang, Y.Q., Hou, X.J., Zhang, B. et al. Identification of a Candidate Gene for Rc-D1, a Locus Controlling Red Coleoptile Colour in Wheat. CEREAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS 44, 35–46 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1556/0806.43.2015.030
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1556/0806.43.2015.030