Expression Level of Mature miR172 in Wild Type and <i>StSUT4</i>-Silenced Plants of <i>Solanum tuberosum</i> Is Sucrose-Dependent

• Main Authors: Varsha Garg, Aleksandra Hackel, Christina Kühn
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-02-01
• Series: International Journal of Molecular Sciences
• Subjects: photoperiodic control; flowering; tuberization; miR172; sucrose transporter; sucrose signaling
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/22/3/1455
• ISSN: 1661-6596; 1422-0067

In potato plants, the phloem-mobile miR172 is involved in the sugar-dependent transmission of flower and tuber inducing signal transduction pathways and a clear link between solute transport and the induction of flowering and tuberization was demonstrated. The sucrose transporter StSUT4 seems to play an important role in the photoperiod-dependent triggering of both developmental processes, flowering and tuberization, and the phenotype of <i>StSUT4</i>-inhibited potato plants is reminiscent to miR172 overexpressing plants. The first aim of this study was the determination of the level of miR172 in sink and source leaves of <i>StSUT4</i>-silenced as well as <i>StSUT4</i>-overexpressing plants in comparison to <i>Solanum tuberosum</i> ssp. Andigena wild type plants. The second aim was to investigate the effect of sugars on the level of miRNA172 in whole cut leaves, as well as in whole in vitro plantlets that were supplemented with exogenous sugars. Experiments clearly show a sucrose-dependent induction of the level of mature miR172 in short time as well as long time experiments. A sucrose-dependent accumulation of miR172 was also measured in mature leaves of<i> StSUT4</i>-silenced plants where sucrose export is delayed and sucrose accumulates at the end of the light period.