Molecular and genetic characterization of ethylene insensitive mutants in snapdragon

Leslie M. Heffron, Schuyler S. Korban

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Developmental regulation of vegetative and floral tissues in five ethylene insensitive snapdragon (Antirrhinum majus L.) mutants and the inbred line OAK564 were investigated using five 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate acid synthase (ACS) coding genes and two ETHYLENE RESPONSE (ETR) receptor coding genes, all cloned from A. majus. A semi-quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) was used to assess expression patterns of these genes in four vegetative tissues and six stages of floral development. In both vegetative and floral tissues of snapdragon, AmACS1, AmACS6, AmACS7, AmACS18, AmACS3, AmETR1, and AmETR2 were expressed at varying levels in the different mutant and inbred lines. Gene expression patterns were also investigated when floral shoots were exposed to 250 µM 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) either with or without pre-treatment with 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP), a compound that binds to ethylene receptor sites in plants delaying ethylene damage in susceptible plants. In some mutant lines, including 9296-5-B, 9296-5-G, 9294-14-C, and cv. Maryland True Pink, 1-MCP inhibited expression of some ACS and ETR genes. This indicated that 1-MCP played an inhibitory role in expression of these genes in these lines. Moreover, crosses between seven ethylene mutants and the inbred control OAK564 were conducted, and F1, BC1, and selfed (M4) seeds were screened with 5 µM ACC. It was observed that all mutants were stable for ethylene tolerance at the seedling stage. Moreover, these ethylene mutations were deemed recessive, while observed gene complementation between several mutant lines indicated that genotypes representing four different genetic loci were involved.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)625-639
Number of pages15
JournalPlant Growth Regulation
Volume98
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2022

Keywords

  • Antirrhinum majus L
  • Ethylene biosynthesis genes
  • Ethylene receptor genes
  • Ethylene-insensitive mutants
  • Gene expression profiles
  • Gene regulation

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Physiology
  • Agronomy and Crop Science
  • Plant Science

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