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Highly efficient virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) in California poppy (Eschscholzia californica): an evaluation of VIGS as a strategy to obtain functional data from non-model plants.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Eschscholzia californica (California poppy) is an emerging model plant for 'evo-devo' studies from the basal eudicot clade of Papaveraceae. California poppy has a relatively small genome, a short life cycle and, most importantly, it is amenable for transformation. However, since this transformation protocol is time consuming, virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) was evaluated as a fast method to obtain functional data for California poppy genes. METHODS: Commercially available California poppy plants were infiltrated with Agrobacterium tumefaciens carrying the tobacco rattle virus plasmids pTRV1 and pTRV2. pTRV2 contained part of the eschscholzia Phytoene Desaturase (EcPDS) gene whose loss of function results in photobleaching of the green parts of the plant and in a lack of floral coloration. The degree and duration of these symptoms was evaluated for vegetative rosettes and plants in flower. KEY RESULTS: It is shown that VIGS is able to effectively down-regulate the EcPDS gene in eschscholzia. Various degrees of silencing were observed starting <2 weeks after infiltration with Agrobacterium tumefaciens in 92 % of the plants. Tissue with silencing symptoms also showed complete or strong reduction of EcPDS transcripts. Strong silencing resulted in almost completely white petals, fruits, shoots and leaves. Plants with a strong degree of silencing will eventually die off; however, others are able to produce EcPDS gene product even after a strong initial silencing and will recover. Silencing was found to be not always systemic, but was often restricted to certain organs or parts of organs. CONCLUSIONS: VIGS is an effective, fast and transient method to down-regulate gene expression in eschscholzia. It serves well to detect prominent phenotypes which may become obvious even if some target gene transcript remains in the plant tissue. However, subtle phenotypes will be more difficult to detect, as extremely strong silencing effects occur in <10 % of all flowers from infected plants.

SUBMITTER: Wege S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2533598 | biostudies-literature | 2007 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Highly efficient virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) in California poppy (Eschscholzia californica): an evaluation of VIGS as a strategy to obtain functional data from non-model plants.

Wege Stefanie S Scholz Andrea A Gleissberg Stefan S Becker Annette A

Annals of botany 20070706 3

<h4>Background and aims</h4>Eschscholzia californica (California poppy) is an emerging model plant for 'evo-devo' studies from the basal eudicot clade of Papaveraceae. California poppy has a relatively small genome, a short life cycle and, most importantly, it is amenable for transformation. However, since this transformation protocol is time consuming, virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) was evaluated as a fast method to obtain functional data for California poppy genes.<h4>Methods</h4>Commerci ...[more]

PMID: 17616562

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Project description:BackgroundThe floral homeotic C function gene AGAMOUS (AG) confers stamen and carpel identity and is involved in the regulation of floral meristem termination in Arabidopsis. Arabidopsis ag mutants show complete homeotic conversions of stamens into petals and carpels into sepals as well as indeterminacy of the floral meristem. Gene function analysis in model core eudicots and the monocots rice and maize suggest a conserved function for AG homologs in angiosperms. At the same time gene phylogenies reveal a complex history of gene duplications and repeated subfunctionalization of paralogs.ResultsEScaAG1 and EScaAG2, duplicate AG homologs in the basal eudicot Eschscholzia californica show a high degree of similarity in sequence and expression, although EScaAG2 expression is lower than EScaAG1 expression. Functional studies employing virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) demonstrate that knock down of EScaAG1 and 2 function leads to homeotic conversion of stamens into petaloid structures and defects in floral meristem termination. However, carpels are transformed into petaloid organs rather than sepaloid structures. We also show that a reduction of EScaAG1 and EScaAG2 expression leads to significantly increased expression of a subset of floral homeotic B genes.ConclusionsThis work presents expression and functional analysis of the two basal eudicot AG homologs. The reduction of EScaAG1 and 2 functions results in the change of stamen to petal identity and a transformation of the central whorl organ identity from carpel into petal identity. Petal identity requires the presence of the floral homeotic B function and our results show that the expression of a subset of B function genes extends into the central whorl when the C function is reduced. We propose a model for the evolution of B function regulation by C function suggesting that the mode of B function gene regulation found in Eschscholzia is ancestral and the C-independent regulation as found in Arabidopsis is evolutionarily derived.

Dataset Information

Highly efficient virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) in California poppy (Eschscholzia californica): an evaluation of VIGS as a strategy to obtain functional data from non-model plants.

Publications

Highly efficient virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) in California poppy (Eschscholzia californica): an evaluation of VIGS as a strategy to obtain functional data from non-model plants.

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