TaTCP-1, a Novel Regeneration-Related Gene Involved in the Molecular Regulation of Somatic Embryogenesis in Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

• Main Authors: Feifei Li, Xiaoyan Li, Meng Qiao, Bo Li, Dongwei Guo, Xiaohong Zhang, Donghong Min
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2020-09-01
• Series: Frontiers in Plant Science
• Subjects: callus regeneration frequency; gene transformation; somatic embryogenesis; TaTCP-1; wheat
• Online Access: https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpls.2020.01004/full

The lower regeneration rate of wheat calli is the main factor restricting the development of transgenic wheat plants. Therefore, improving the regeneration rate of wheat callus is a precondition for developing genetic engineering-based wheat breeding approaches. In the present study, we explored the molecular mechanism of wheat regeneration and aimed to establish an efficient system for transgenic wheat. We isolated and identified a regeneration-related gene, TaTCP-1 (KC808517), from wheat cultivar Lunxuan 987. Sequence analysis revealed that the ORF of TaTCP-1 was 1623bp long encoding 540 amino acids. The TaTCP-1 gene was expressed in various wheat tissues. Further, the level of TaTCP-1 expression was higher in calli and increased gradually with increasing callus induction time, reaching a peak on the 11th day after induction. Moreover, the expression level of TaTCP-1 was higher in embryogenic calli than in non-embryonic calli. The TaTCP-1 protein was localized to the nucleus, cytoplasm, and cell membrane. The callus regeneration rate of wheat plants transformed with TaTCP-1-RNAi reduced by 85.09%. In contrast, it increased by 14.43% in plants overexpressing TaTCP-1. In conclusion, our results showed that TaTCP-1 played a vital role in promoting wheat regeneration, and regulated the somatic embryogenesis of wheat. These results may have implications in the genetic engineering of wheat for improved wheat production.