Age-dependent miR156-targeted SPLs are required for extrafloral nectary development and ecological relationships in Passiflora spp
Extrafloral nectaries (EFNs) are recognized as leaf structures that foster important ecologically protective mutualisms between plant and animal communities. In many species, EFNs are absent from leaves produced immediately after germination and appear as the plant ages, indicating a link with plant...
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| Formato: | tesis doctoral |
| Estado: | Versión publicada |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2024 |
| País: | Brasil |
| Recursos: | Universidade Federal de Viçosa (UFV) |
| Repositorio: | LOCUS Repositório Institucional da UFV |
| Idioma: | inglés |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:locus.ufv.br:123456789/33913 |
| Acesso em linha: | https://locus.ufv.br/handle/123456789/33913 https://doi.org/10.47328/ufvbbt.2024.524 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palavra-chave: | Regulação de expressão gênica Passifloraceae Nectários Análise foliar Plantas - Desenvolvimento Fisiologia Vegetal |
| Resumo: | Extrafloral nectaries (EFNs) are recognized as leaf structures that foster important ecologically protective mutualisms between plant and animal communities. In many species, EFNs are absent from leaves produced immediately after germination and appear as the plant ages, indicating a link with plant age. The miR156/SQUAMOSA PROMOTER BINDING PROTEIN-LIKE (SPL) module is the master regulator of the transition from juvenile to adult vegetative phase, but how age cues control EFN establishment remains poorly understood. Here, we combined genetic and molecular studies to investigate how leaf development and EFN patterning are regulated by miR156/SPL module in two EFN-containing Passiflora species with distinct leaf shapes. Low miR156 levels correlate with leaf maturation and EFN formation in Passiflora edulis and P. cincinnata. Consistently, overexpression of miR156 (miR156- OE), leads to low levels of SPLs, alters plant height and architecture, leaf morphology, and delayed flowering, as reported in other species. Furthermore, it affected leaf ontogeny and EFN in both species. Laminar EFNs were smaller and less abundant in both P. edulis and P. cincinnata miR156-OE leaves. Importantly, the ecological relationships established by EFNs and their sugar profiles were negatively regulated by high levels of miR156. Moreover, transcriptome analysis of young leaf primordia revealed that miR156-targeted SPLs may be required to properly express leaf and EFN development-associated genes in P. edulis and P. cincinnata. Our work provides the first evidence that the conserved age-dependent miR156/SPL module may be deployed to orchestrate EFN development and that the program responsible for EFN development is closely associated with the heteroblastic developmental program of the EFN-bearing leaves. Keywords: Heteroblasty. Vegetative phase change. Nectary. miR156/SPL. Passifloraceae. |
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