RESUMEN
The transition from active growth to dormancy is critical for the survival of perennial plants. We identified a DEMETER-like (CsDML) cDNA from a winter-enriched cDNA subtractive library in chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.), an economically and ecologically important species. Next, we characterized this DNA demethylase and its putative ortholog in the more experimentally tractable hybrid poplar (Populus tremula × alba), under the signals that trigger bud dormancy in trees. We performed phylogenetic and protein sequence analysis, gene expression profiling, and 5-methyl-cytosine methylation immunodetection studies to evaluate the role of CsDML and its homolog in poplar, PtaDML6. Transgenic hybrid poplars overexpressing CsDML were produced and analysed. Short days and cold temperatures induced CsDML and PtaDML6. Overexpression of CsDML accelerated short-day-induced bud formation, specifically from Stages 1 to 0. Buds acquired a red-brown coloration earlier than wild-type plants, alongside with the up-regulation of flavonoid biosynthesis enzymes and accumulation of flavonoids in the shoot apical meristem and bud scales. Our data show that the CsDML gene induces bud formation needed for the survival of the apical meristem under the harsh conditions of winter.
Asunto(s)
Meristema/enzimología , Meristema/crecimiento & desarrollo , Oxidorreductasas O-Demetilantes/metabolismo , Proteínas de Plantas/metabolismo , Populus/enzimología , Populus/crecimiento & desarrollo , Secuencia de Aminoácidos , Arabidopsis/genética , Dominio Catalítico , Frío , ADN Glicosilasas/química , ADN Glicosilasas/metabolismo , Metilación de ADN/genética , Flavonoides/metabolismo , Fluorescencia , Perfilación de la Expresión Génica , Regulación del Desarrollo de la Expresión Génica , Regulación de la Expresión Génica de las Plantas , Genes de Plantas , Hippocastanaceae/enzimología , Hippocastanaceae/genética , Hippocastanaceae/crecimiento & desarrollo , Meristema/genética , Fotoperiodo , Filogenia , Proteínas de Plantas/genética , Plantas Modificadas Genéticamente , Populus/genética , Estaciones del AñoRESUMEN
Allozyme genetic variation in 12 populations of the endangered Castanea pumila var. pumila (Allegheny chinkapin), sampled across the natural range of the species in the United States, was evaluated using 11 loci from seven enzyme systems. At the species level, the percentage of polymorphic loci (Ps) was 72.7 %, the mean number of alleles per locus (As) was 1.9, the mean number of alleles per polymorphic locus (APs) was 2.3, the effective number of alleles per locus (Aes) was 1.5 and the genetic diversity (Hes) was 0.296. At the population level, Pp = 49.2 %, Ap = 1.5, Aep = 1.4, APp = 2.1 and Hep = 0.21. Most of the allozyme variation (70 %) in C. pumila var. pumila occurred within populations. Wright's gene flow rate [Nm(W)] was as low as 0.57. Population differentiation along the species range was not detected. Populations of C. pumila var. pumila in Florida had the most variable levels of genetic diversity, but populations in Virginia and Mississippi also showed high levels. Based on the results of this study, conservation management strategies are discussed.
