Plant Science Department, McGill University, 21111 Rue Lakeshore, Montreal, QC, H9X 3V9, Canada.
Ottawa Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Ottawa, ON, K1A 0C6, Canada.
Sci Rep. 2024 Apr 30;14(1):9928. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-60739-7.
SQUAMOSA promoter binding-like proteins (SPLs) are important transcription factors that influence growth phase transition and reproduction in plants. SPLs are targeted by miR156 but the SPL/miR156 module is completely unknown in oat. We identified 28 oat SPL genes (AsSPLs) distributed across all 21 oat chromosomes except for 4C and 6D. The oat- SPL gene family represented six of eight SPL phylogenetic groups, with no AsSPLs in groups 3 and 7. A novel oat miR156 (AsmiR156) family with 21 precursors divided into 7 groups was characterized. A total of 16 AsSPLs were found to be targeted by AsmiR156. Intriguingly, AsSPL3s showed high transcript abundance during early inflorescence (GS-54), as compared to the lower abundance of AsmiR156, indicating their role in reproductive development. Unravelling the SPL/miR156 regulatory hub and alterations in expression patterns of AsSPLs could provide an essential toolbox for genetic improvement in the cultivated oat.
SPL 是一类重要的植物转录因子，其功能与生长发育和繁殖有关。SPL 基因是 miR156 的靶基因，但是在燕麦中，SPL/miR156 模块的功能还没有被研究。我们鉴定了 28 个燕麦 SPL 基因（AsSPLs），它们分布在燕麦的 21 条染色体上，4C 和 6D 染色体上没有。燕麦 SPL 基因家族包含了 8 个 SPL 进化枝中的 6 个，但是没有第 3 和第 7 个进化枝。我们还鉴定了 21 个具有 7 个家族的 miR156 前体，进一步被分为 7 个组。一共鉴定到 16 个 AsSPL 基因是 miR156 的靶基因。有趣的是，AsSPL3 在花序早期（GS-54）的转录丰度较高，而 miR156 的转录丰度较低，这表明 AsSPL3 可能在生殖发育中起作用。阐明 SPL/miR156 调控模块以及 AsSPL 表达模式的改变，可能为燕麦的遗传改良提供重要的工具。
