CRISPR/Cas9-mediated knockout of Populus BRANCHED1 and BRANCHED2 orthologs reveals a major function in bud outgrowth control. (28th September 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Muhr, Merlin; Paulat, Maria; Awwanah, Mo; Brinkkötter, Mascha; Teichmann, Thomas
• Editors: Tsai, Chung-Jui
• Is Part Of: Tree physiology. Volume 38:Number 10(2018)
• Page Start: 1588
• Page End: 1597
• Publication Date: 2018-09-28
• Subjects: branching -- BRC1 -- BRC2 -- ectopic leaves -- poplar -- Populus × canescens; Trees -- Physiology -- Periodicals; 582.16
• DOI: 10.1093/treephys/tpy088
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0829-318X

Abstract

Abstract: The TCP-type transcription factors BRANCHED1 and BRANCHED2 shape plant architecture by suppressing bud outgrowth, with BRANCHED2 only playing a minor role in Arabidopsis . Here, we investigated the function of orthologs of these genes in the model tree Populus . We used CRISPR/Cas9 to generate loss-of-function mutants of previously identified Populus BRANCHED1-1 and BRANCHED2-1 candidate genes. BRANCHED1-1 mutants exhibited strongly enhanced bud outgrowth. BRANCHED2-1 mutants had an extreme bud outgrowth phenotype and possessed two ectopic leaves at each node. While BRANCHED1 function is conserved in poplar, BRANCHED2, in contrast to its Arabidopsis counterpart, plays an even more critical role in bud outgrowth regulation. In addition, we identified a new, not yet reported association of this gene to leaf development.