Hung Chiu-Yueh, Zhang Jianhui, Bhattacharya Chayanika, Li Hua, Kittur Farooqahmed S, Oldham Carla E, Wei Xiangying, Burkey Kent O, Chen Jianjun, Xie Jiahua
Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Biomanufacturing Research Institute and Technology Enterprise, North Carolina Central University, Durham, NC, United States.
Institute of Oceanography, Minjiang University, Fuzhou, China.
Front Plant Sci. 2021 May 12;12:647507. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2021.647507. eCollection 2021.
Chloroplasts are organelles responsible for chlorophyll biosynthesis, photosynthesis, and biosynthesis of many metabolites, which are one of key targets for crop improvement. Elucidating and engineering genes involved in chloroplast development are important approaches for studying chloroplast functions as well as developing new crops. In this study, we report a long-lived albino mutant derived from a popular ornamental plant 'Golden Pothos' which could be used as a model for analyzing the function of genes involved in chloroplast development and generating colorful plants. Albino mutant plants were isolated from regenerated populations of variegated 'Golden Pothos' whose albino phenotype was previously found to be due to impaired expression of , encoding Mg-protoporphyrin IX monomethyl ester cyclase. Using petioles of the mutant plants as explants with a traceable gene, an efficient transformation system was developed. Expressing Arabidopsis (a homolog of ) but not in albino plants restored green color and chloroplast development. Interestingly, in addition to the occurrence of plants with solid green color, plants with variegated leaves and pale-yellow leaves were also obtained in the regenerated populations. Nevertheless, our study shows that these long-lived albino plants along with the established efficient transformation system could be used for creating colorful ornamental plants. This system could also potentially be used for investigating physiological processes associated with chlorophyll levels and chloroplast development as well as certain biological activities, which are difficult to achieve using green plants.
叶绿体是负责叶绿素生物合成、光合作用以及许多代谢产物生物合成的细胞器，是作物改良的关键靶点之一。阐明和改造参与叶绿体发育的基因是研究叶绿体功能以及培育新作物的重要途径。在本研究中，我们报道了一种源自流行观赏植物“绿萝”的长寿白化突变体，它可作为分析参与叶绿体发育的基因功能以及培育彩色植物的模型。白化突变体植株是从斑叶“绿萝”的再生群体中分离得到的，其白化表型先前被发现是由于编码镁原卟啉IX单甲酯环化酶的 基因表达受损所致。以突变体植株的叶柄为外植体并带有可追踪的 基因，开发了一种高效转化系统。在白化植株中表达拟南芥 （ 的同源物）而非 可恢复绿色和叶绿体发育。有趣的是，除了出现全绿色植株外，再生群体中还获得了斑叶和浅黄色叶的植株。然而，我们的研究表明，这些长寿白化植株以及已建立的高效转化系统可用于培育彩色观赏植物。该系统还可能用于研究与叶绿素水平和叶绿体发育相关的生理过程以及某些生物学活性，而这些用绿色植物很难实现。
