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Glucocorticoid receptor-regulated TcLEC2 expression triggers somatic embryogenesis in Theobroma cacao leaf tissue.
- Source :
-
PloS one [PLoS One] 2018 Nov 26; Vol. 13 (11), pp. e0207666. Date of Electronic Publication: 2018 Nov 26 (Print Publication: 2018). - Publication Year :
- 2018
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Abstract
- Theobroma cacao, the source of cocoa, is a crop of particular importance in many developing countries. Availability of elite planting material is a limiting factor for increasing productivity of Theobroma cacao; therefore, the development of new strategies for clonal propagation is essential to improve farmers' incomes and to meet increasing global demand for cocoa. To develop a more efficient embryogenesis system for cacao, tissue was transformed with a transgene encoding a fusion of Leafy Cotyledon 2 (TcLEC2) to a glucocorticoid receptor domain (GR) to control nuclear localization of the protein. Upon application of the glucocorticoid dexamethasone (dex), downstream targets of LEC2 involved in seed-development were up-regulated and somatic embryos (SEs) were successfully regenerated from TcLEC2-GR transgenic flower and leaf tissue in large numbers. Immature SEs regenerated from TcLEC2-GR leaves were smaller in size than immature SEs from floral tissue, suggesting a different ontogenetic origin. Additionally, exposure of TcLEC2-GR floral explants to dex increased the number of SEs compared to floral explants from control, non-transgenic trees or from TcLEC2-GR floral explants not treated with dex. Testing different durations of exposure to dex indicated that a three-day treatment produced optimal embryo regeneration. Leaf derived SEs were successfully grown to maturity, converted into plants, and established in the greenhouse, demonstrating that these embryos are fully developmentally competent. In summary, we demonstrate that regulating TcLEC2 activity offers a powerful new strategy for optimizing somatic embryogenesis pipelines for cacao.<br />Competing Interests: The authors have the following interests: Andrew S. Fister is employed by Pairwise Plants and Yufan Zhang by Essenlix Corporation. There are no patents, products in development or marketed products to declare. This does not alter the authors' adherence to all the PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials, as detailed online in the guide for authors.
- Subjects :
- Cacao drug effects
Cacao growth & development
Dexamethasone pharmacology
Gene Expression Regulation, Plant drug effects
Plant Leaves drug effects
Plant Leaves metabolism
Plant Proteins genetics
Plant Somatic Embryogenesis Techniques
Plants, Genetically Modified growth & development
Plants, Genetically Modified metabolism
RNA, Plant metabolism
Receptors, Glucocorticoid metabolism
Transcription Factors genetics
Cacao metabolism
Plant Proteins metabolism
Receptors, Glucocorticoid genetics
Transcription Factors metabolism
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1932-6203
- Volume :
- 13
- Issue :
- 11
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- PloS one
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 30475838
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0207666