Localized gene expression changes during adventitious root formation in black walnut (Juglans nigra L.).

Cutting propagation plays a large role in the forestry and horticulture industries where superior genotypes need to be clonally multiplied. Integral to this process is the ability of cuttings to form adventitious roots. Recalcitrance to adventitious root development is a serious hurdle for many woody plant propagation systems including black walnut (Juglans nigra L.), an economically valuable species. The inability of black walnut to reliably form adventitious roots limits propagation of superior genotypes. Adventitious roots originate from different locations, and root induction is controlled by many environmental and endogenous factors. At the molecular level, however, the regulation of adventitious root formation is still poorly understood. In order to elucidate the transcriptional changes during adventitious root development in black walnut, we used quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction to measure the expression of nine key genes regulating root formation in other species. Using our previously developed spatially explicit timeline of adventitious root development in black walnut softwood cuttings, we optimized a laser capture microdissection protocol to isolate RNA from cortical, phloem fiber and phloem parenchyma cells throughout adventitious root formation. Laser capture microdissection permitted high-resolution, site-specific analysis of gene expression that differentiated between participatory and non-participatory root progenitor cells. Results indicated mRNA abundance was altered in all nine rooting-related genes in response to auxin treatment in both juvenile and mature cuttings. SCARECROW LIKE-1 (SCL) had the greatest change in expression in juvenile rooting-competent cells at days 16 and 18, with a 24- and 23-fold increase relative to day 0, respectively. Tissues not linked to root organogenesis had little change in SCL expression at similar time points. AUXIN RESPONSE FACTOR (ARF)6 and ARF8 as well as SHORTROOT expression also increased 2- to 4-fold in rooting-competent tissue. The greatest transcript abundance in rooting-competent cuttings was restricted to root progenitor cells, while recalcitrant cuttings had a diffuse mRNA signal among tissue types.

Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation and plant regeneration of the hardwood tree species Fraxinus profunda.

This transformation and regeneration protocol provides an integral framework for the genetic improvement of Fraxinus profunda (pumpkin ash) for future development of plants resistant to the emerald ash borer. Using mature hypocotyls as the initial explants, an Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated genetic transformation system was successfully developed for pumpkin ash (Fraxinus profunda). This transformation protocol is an invaluable tool to combat the highly aggressive, non-native emerald ash borer (EAB), which has the potential to eliminate native Fraxinus spp. from the natural landscape. Hypocotyls were successfully transformed with Agrobacterium strain EHA105 harboring the pq35GR vector, containing an enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) as well as a fusion gene between neomycin phosphotransferase (nptII) and gusA. Hypocotyls were cultured for 7 days on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium with 22.2 µM 6-benzyladenine (BA), 4.5 µM thidiazuron (TDZ), 50 mg L(-1) adenine hemisulfate (AS), and 10 % coconut water (CW) prior to transformation. Hypocotyls were transformed using 90 s sonication plus 10 min vacuum infiltration after Agrobacterium was exposed to 100 µM acetosyringone for 1 h. Adventitious shoots were regenerated on MS medium with 22.2 µM BA, 4.5 µM TDZ, 50 mg L(-1) AS, 10 % CW, 400 mg L(-1) timentin, and 20 mg L(-1) kanamycin. Timentin at 400 and 20 mg L(-1) kanamycin were most effective at controlling Agrobacterium growth and selecting for transformed cells, respectively. The presence of nptII, GUS (ß-glucuronidase), and EGFP in transformed plants was confirmed using polymerase chain reaction (PCR), while the expression of EGFP was also confirmed through fluorescent microscopy and reverse transcription-PCR. This transformation protocol provides an integral foundation for future genetic modifications of F. profunda to provide resistance to EAB.