Two MYB transcriptional regulators, FLP and its paralogous AtMYB88, redundantly regulate the symmetrical division of guard mother cells (GMCs) and abiotic stress response in Arabidopsis thaliana. Only one orthologue gene of FLP was identified in pea (Pisum sativum FLP; PsFLP).
The study on the stomatal development of peas has a guiding significance for improving some important agronomic traits of leguminous plants. However, studies on the biological function of PsFLP in pea have never been reported.
In a study published in Physiologia Plantarum, researchers from Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG) and their collaborators explored the gene function of PsFLP by virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) technology.
By silencing PsFLP with VIGS technology, the researchers obtained pea strains with abnormal stomatal clusters, which suggested that PsFLP may be involved in the symmetrical division of stomata. The number of stomatal units per unit area was significantly higher in silent strains than in the wild type.
The quantitative real-time (qRT-PCR) data showed that PsFLP could inhibit the expressions of CYCA2;3 and CDKA;1 and positively regulate the expression levels of AAO3, NCED3, and SnRK2.3 in Arabidopsis thaliana.
Thus, PsFLP not only regulates the symmetric division of stomata but also may regulate ABA synthesis genes and transduction genes, thereby participating in drought stress response pathways.
"Our research provides new insights into improving crop stress tolerance by artificially modulating stomatal development," said Prof. CHEN Jianghua of XTBG.
The results suggest that the appropriate change of stomata number and adjusting the stomatal density can maintain the photosynthetic rate of crops and effectively prevent water loss, enhance crop drought resistance, and improve crop yield.
Contact
CHEN Jianghua Ph.D Principal Investigator
Key Laboratory of Tropical Plant Resources and Sustainable Use, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Menglun 666303, Yunnan, China
E-mail: jhchen@xtbg.ac.cn
First published: 01 June 2023
