Sun Piaoyun, Zhao Hongjiao, Cao Lihong, Zhang Tian, Zhang Helong, Yang Tongwen, Zhao Bosi, Jiang Yanxin, Dong Junyang, Chen Tianrui, Jiang Biao, Li Zheng, Shen Junjun
College of Horticulture, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, Shaanxi, China.
Guangdong Key Laboratory for New Technology Research of Vegetables, Vegetable Research Institute, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510640, China.
Plant Physiol. 2024 Dec 2;196(4):3091-3104. doi: 10.1093/plphys/kiae486.
Dwarf or semidwarf plant structures are well suited for intensive farming, maximizing yield, and minimizing labor costs. Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) is classified as an annual vine plant with elongated internodes, yet the mechanism governing watermelon dwarfing remains unclear. In this study, a compact watermelon mutant dwarf, induced by the insertion of transferred DNA (T-DNA), was discovered. Through resequencing, a gene named domain of unknown function 21 (ClDUF21), located downstream of the T-DNA insertion site, was identified as the candidate gene for the dwarf mutant, and its functionality was subsequently confirmed. Watermelon mutants generated through CRISPR/Cas9-mediated knockout of ClDUF21 revealed that homozygous mutants displayed a pronounced dwarfing phenotype, and protein-protein interaction analysis confirmed the direct interaction between ClDUF21 and ClDWF1. Subsequently, we employed CRISPR/Cas9 technology to precisely modify the homologous gene CsDUF21 in cucumber (Cucumis sativus) and performed protein interaction validation between CsDUF21 and CsDWF1, thereby demonstrating that the CsDUF21 gene also exhibits analogous functionality in plant dwarfing. These findings demonstrate that ClDUF21 governs plant dwarfism by modulating the brassinosteroid synthesis pathway via ClDWF1.
矮化或半矮化植株结构非常适合集约农业，可实现产量最大化并降低劳动力成本。西瓜（Citrullus lanatus）被归类为一年生藤蔓植物，节间细长，但其矮化调控机制尚不清楚。在本研究中，发现了一个由转移DNA（T-DNA）插入诱导产生的紧凑型西瓜突变体矮化植株。通过重测序，位于T-DNA插入位点下游的一个名为未知功能域21（ClDUF21）的基因被鉴定为矮化突变体的候选基因，随后其功能得到证实。通过CRISPR/Cas9介导敲除ClDUF21产生的西瓜突变体显示，纯合突变体表现出明显的矮化表型，蛋白质-蛋白质相互作用分析证实了ClDUF21与ClDWF1之间的直接相互作用。随后，我们利用CRISPR/Cas9技术对黄瓜（Cucumis sativus）中的同源基因CsDUF21进行了精确修饰，并对CsDUF21与CsDWF1之间的蛋白质相互作用进行了验证，从而证明CsDUF21基因在植物矮化方面也具有类似功能。这些发现表明，ClDUF21通过ClDWF1调节油菜素内酯合成途径来控制植物矮化。
