TY - JOUR
T1 - A metabolic gene cluster in the wheat W1 and the barley Cer-cqu loci determines β-diketone biosynthesis and glaucousness
AU - Hen-Avivi, Shelly
AU - Savin, Orna
AU - Racovita, Radu C.
AU - Lee, Wing Sham
AU - Adamski, Nikolai M.
AU - Malitsky, Sergey
AU - Almekias-Siegl, Efrat
AU - Levy, Matan
AU - Vautrin, Sonia
AU - Bergès, Hélène
AU - Friedlander, Gilgi
AU - Kartvelishvily, Elena
AU - Ben-Zvi, Gil
AU - Alkan, Noam
AU - Uauy, Cristobal
AU - Kanyuka, Kostya
AU - Jetter, Reinhard
AU - Distelfeld, Assaf
AU - Aharoni, Asaph
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 American Society of Plant Biologists.
PY - 2016/6
Y1 - 2016/6
N2 - The glaucous appearance of wheat (Triticum aestivum) and barley (Hordeum vulgare) plants, that is the light bluish-gray look of flag leaf, stem, and spike surfaces, results from deposition of cuticular β-diketone wax on their surfaces; this phenotype is associated with high yield, especially under drought conditions. Despite extensive genetic and biochemical characterization, the molecular genetic basis underlying the biosynthesis of β-diketones remains unclear. Here, we discovered that the wheat W1 locus contains a metabolic gene cluster mediating β-diketone biosynthesis. The cluster comprises genes encoding proteins of several families including type-III polyketide synthases, hydrolases, and cytochrome P450s related to known fatty acid hydroxylases. The cluster region was identified in both genetic and physical maps of glaucous and glossy tetraploid wheat, demonstrating entirely different haplotypes in these accessions. Complementary evidence obtained through gene silencing in planta and heterologous expression in bacteria supports a model for a β-diketone biosynthesis pathway involving members of these three protein families. Mutations in homologous genes were identified in the barley eceriferum mutants defective in β-diketone biosynthesis, demonstrating a gene cluster also in the β-diketone biosynthesis Cer-cqu locus in barley. Hence, our findings open new opportunities to breed major cereal crops for surface features that impact yield and stress response.
AB - The glaucous appearance of wheat (Triticum aestivum) and barley (Hordeum vulgare) plants, that is the light bluish-gray look of flag leaf, stem, and spike surfaces, results from deposition of cuticular β-diketone wax on their surfaces; this phenotype is associated with high yield, especially under drought conditions. Despite extensive genetic and biochemical characterization, the molecular genetic basis underlying the biosynthesis of β-diketones remains unclear. Here, we discovered that the wheat W1 locus contains a metabolic gene cluster mediating β-diketone biosynthesis. The cluster comprises genes encoding proteins of several families including type-III polyketide synthases, hydrolases, and cytochrome P450s related to known fatty acid hydroxylases. The cluster region was identified in both genetic and physical maps of glaucous and glossy tetraploid wheat, demonstrating entirely different haplotypes in these accessions. Complementary evidence obtained through gene silencing in planta and heterologous expression in bacteria supports a model for a β-diketone biosynthesis pathway involving members of these three protein families. Mutations in homologous genes were identified in the barley eceriferum mutants defective in β-diketone biosynthesis, demonstrating a gene cluster also in the β-diketone biosynthesis Cer-cqu locus in barley. Hence, our findings open new opportunities to breed major cereal crops for surface features that impact yield and stress response.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84978129504&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1105/tpc.16.00197
DO - 10.1105/tpc.16.00197
M3 - Article
C2 - 27225753
AN - SCOPUS:84978129504
SN - 1040-4651
VL - 28
SP - 1440
EP - 1460
JO - Plant Cell
JF - Plant Cell
IS - 6
ER -