CRISPR/Cas9 editing of wheat TaQ genes alters spike morphogenesis and grain threshability  

作　　者：Huiyun Liu Ke Wang Huali Tang Qiang Gong Lipu Du Xinwu Pei Xingguo Ye 

机构地区：[1]Institute of Crop Science,Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences,Beijing,100081,China [2]Biotechnology Research Institute,Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences,Beijing,100081,China

出　　处：《Journal of Genetics and Genomics》2020年第9期563-575,共13页遗传学报（英文版）

基　　金：financially supported in part by grants from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China(2016ZX08009001 and 2016ZX08010004);the Science and Technology Department of Ningxia China(2019BBF02020);the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences(2060302-2-19)。

摘　　要：The Ta Q alleles as one of the AP2-like transcription factors in common wheat(Triticum aestivum) play an important role in the evolution of spike characteristics from wild and domesticated emmer to modern wheat cultivars. Its loss-of-function mutant not only changed threshability and spike architecture but also affected plant height, flowering time, and floret structure. However, the comprehensive functions of Ta AQ and Ta Dq genes in wheat have not been fully elucidated yet. Here, CRISPR/Sp Cas9 was used to edit wheat Ta AQ and Ta Dq. We obtained homozygous plants in the T1 generation with loss of function of only Ta AQ or Ta Dq and simultaneous loss of function of Ta AQ and Ta Dq to analyze the effect of these genes on wheat spikes and floret shapes. The results demonstrated that the Ta AQ-edited plants and the Ta AQ and Ta Dq simultaneously-edited plants were nearly similar in spike architecture, whereas the Ta Dq-edited plants were different from the wild-type ones only in plant height. Moreover, the Ta AQ-edited plants or the Ta AQ and Ta Dq simultaneously-edited plants were more brittle than the wild-type and the Ta Dqedited plants. Based on the expression profiling, we postulated that the VRN1, FUL2, SEP2, SEP5, and SEP6 genes might affect the number of spikelets and florets per spike in wheat by regulating the expression of Ta Q. Combining the results of this report and previous reports, we conceived a regulatory network of wheat traits, including plant height, spike shape, and floral organs, which were influenced by AP2-like family genes. The results achieved in this study will help us to understand the regulating mechanisms of Ta AQ and Ta Dq alleles on wheat floral organs and inflorescence development.

关 键 词：Triticum aestivum Gene editing Spike architecture APETALA2 TaQ genes 

分 类 号：S512.1[农业科学—作物学] Q943.2[生物学—植物学]