Abstract
To explore the physiological characteristics of the pepc gene in transgenic wheat (Triticum aestivum) plants, PEPC activities in various organs of T3 plants were analyzed at Feekes 6.0, Feekes 10.3 and Feekes 11.1, and compared to control, untransformed wheat cultivar Zhoumai 19. Net photosynthetic rates (Pn) in leaves were also measured at the same stages. At Feekes 11.1, both transgenic and control plants were treated with DCDP. Yield traits were surveyed after harvest. The results indicated that Pn and PEPC activity in the flag leaf of transgenic wheat were significantly higher than those of the control at different stages. At Feekes 10.3, Pn reached the highest value at 28.2 μmol m−2 s−1 and PEPC activity reached the highest value at 104.6 μmol h−1 mg−1. Both factors significantly increased by 21% compared to the control at Feekes 11.1. PEPC activity in the flag leaf of transgenic plants was significantly higher than that of non-leaf organs. Pn of transgenic plants was greatly reduced after DCDP treatment. In the flag leaf of transgenic wheat, Pn was significantly correlated to PEPC activities at 0.01 probability level with a correlation coefficient of 0.8957**. The yield traits of transgenic line 1-27-3, such as 1000-grain weight, single spike weight and harvest index were higher than those of the control. Additionally, the spike weight of 1-27-3 showed an increase of approximately 9.5% compared to the control. These results indicated that the expression of maize (Zea mays) pepc gene was different across various organs of transgenic wheat and across every growth stage. Therefore, we conclude that introducing maize pepc gene into wheat plants can increase their Pn and improve production.
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Communicated by P.S. Baenziger
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Han, L.L., Xu, W.G., Hu, L. et al. Preliminary Study on the Physiological Characteristics of Transgenic Wheat with Maize C4-pepc Gene in Field Conditions. CEREAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS 42, 70–80 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1556/CRC.2013.0037
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1556/CRC.2013.0037