Modulation of the DA1 pathway in maize shows that translatability of information from Arabidopsis to crops is complex. (August 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Gong, Pan; Demuynck, Kirin; De Block, Jolien; Aesaert, Stijn; Coussens, Griet; Pauwels, Laurens; Inzé, Dirk; Nelissen, Hilde
• Is Part Of: Plant science. Volume 321(2022)
• Publication Date: 2022-08
• Subjects: Maize growth -- CRISPR/Cas9 -- DA1 -- DAR1 -- BIG BROTHER; Botany -- Periodicals; Botanique -- Périodiques; 580
• DOI: 10.1016/j.plantsci.2022.111295
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0168-9452

Abstract

Abstract: Modern agriculture is struggling to meet the increasing food, silage and raw material demands due to the rapid growth of population and climate change. In Arabidopsis, DA1 and DAR1 are proteases that negatively regulate cell proliferation and control organ size. DA1 and DAR1 are activated by ubiquitination catalyzed by the E3 ligase BIG BROTHER (BB). Here, we characterized the DA1, DAR1 and BB gene families in maize and analyzed whether perturbation of these genes regulates organ size similar to what was observed in Arabidopsis. We generated da1_dar1a_dar1b triple CRISPR maize mutants and bb1_bb2 double mutants. Detailed phenotypic analysis showed that the size of leaf, stem, cob, and seed was not consistently enlarged in these mutants. Also overexpression of a dominant-negative DA1 R333K allele, resembling the da1-1 allele of Arabidopsis which has larger leaves and seeds, did not alter the maize phenotype. The mild negative effects on plant height of the DA1 R333K _bb1_bb2 mutant indicate that the genes in the DA1 pathway may control organ size in maize, albeit less obvious than in Arabidopsis. Highlights: DA1, DAR1 and BB genes were successfully edited in maize by using CRISPR/Cas9. The DA1 R333K overexpression plants did not alter maize organ size. da1_dar1a_dar1b and bb1_bb2 CRISPR mutants did not promote maize growth. The DA1/BIG BROTHER pathway does not stimulate organ growth in the B104 maize inbred. Model-to-crop translational research is not straightforward, despite conserved genes.