Building an embryo: An auxin gene toolkit for zygotic and somatic embryogenesis in Brazilian pin

Author(s)

Elbl, Paula M. ^[1] ; de Souza, Diego T. ^{[2, 1]} ; Rosado, Daniele ^[3] ; de Oliveira, Leandro F. ^[1] ; Navarro, V, Bruno ; Matioli, Sergio R. ^[4] ; Floh, Eny I. S. ^[5]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Biosci, Dept Bot, Lab Plant Cell Biol, Rua Matao 277, Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil

^[2] Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Math & Stat, Dept Comp Sci, Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil

^[3] Cold Spring Harbor Lab, Cold Spring Harbor, NY 11724 - USA

^[4] Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Biosci, Dept Genet & Evolutionary Biol, Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil

^[5] Navarro, Bruno, V, Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Biosci, Dept Bot, Lab Plant Cell Biol, Rua Matao 277, Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: Gene; v. 817, APR 5 2022.
• Web of Science Citations: 0

Abstract

Many studies in the model species Arabidopsis thaliana characterized genes involved in embryo formation. However, much remains to be learned about the portfolio of genes that are involved in signal transduction and transcriptional regulation during plant embryo development in other species, particularly in an evolutionary context, especially considering that some genes involved in embryo patterning are not exclusive of land plants. This study, used a combination of domain architecture phylostratigraphy and phylogenetic reconstruction to investigate the evolutionary history of embryo patterning and auxin metabolism (EPAM) genes in Viridiplantae. This approach shed light on the co-optation of auxin metabolism and other molecular mechanisms that contributed to the radiation of land plants, and specifically to embryo formation. These results have potential to assist conservation programs, by directing the development of tools for obtaining somatic embryos. In this context, we employed this methodology with critically endangered and non-model species Araucaria angustifolia, the Brazilian pine, which is current focus of conservation efforts using somatic embryogenesis. So far, this approach had little success since somatic embryos fail to completely develop. By profiling the expression of genes that we identified as necessary for the emergence of land-plant embryos, we found striking differences between zygotic and somatic embryos that might explain the developmental arrest and be used to improve A. angustifolia somatic culture. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 18/08215-0 - Study of post-transcriptional gene regulation processes in the somatic embryogenesis in Araucaria angustifolia
• Grantee: Leandro Francisco de Oliveira
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• FAPESP's process: 16/17541-2 - From stress to embryos: molecular and physiological mechanisms associated to somatic embryogenesis
• Grantee: Eny Iochevet Segal Floh
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• FAPESP's process: 17/25680-5 - Development and integration of computational tools for Piper species transcriptome analysis
• Grantee: Diego Trindade de Souza
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Technical Training Program - Technical Training