Opposite response of maize ZmCCT to photoperiod due to transposon jumping

© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature..

KEY MESSAGE: The new 4.2-kb transposable insertion in the intron of ZmCCT reversely responded relative to the known 5.1-kb transposable insertion to photoperiods between low- and high-latitude regions. Flowering time is a key trait for cereal adaptation that is controlled by a complex genetic background in maize. The effect of multiple alleles from a quantitative trait locus (QTL) on flowering time remains largely unknown. Here, we fine-mapped a major QTL for flowering time on maize chromosome 10 corresponding to ZmCCT, where a new allele with a 4.2-kilobase (kb) transposable insertion was present in the intron. The known allele with a 5.1-kb transposon insertion in the promoter of ZmCCT enhances flowering in high-latitude regions, but has no effect on flowering time in low-latitude regions in comparison with the null allele lacking this insertion. However, our new allele with a 4.2-kb insertion reduced flowering in the low-latitude region, but produced unchanged flowering time in the high-latitude region relative to the 5.1-kb transposable insertion. Transcription analysis revealed that the new allele with 4.2-kb insertion versus the 5.1-kb insertion repressed and unchanged the transcription of ZmCCT in the low- and high-latitude regions, respectively. Thus, the allele with the 4.2-kb transposable insertion showed a completely opposite response to photoperiods between these two regions. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the 4.2-kb transposable insertion in the two Northern flint corns originated from tropical maize. RNA-seq analysis and dual-luciferase transient expression assays further identified a conserved gene regulation network of ZmCCT between maize and rice, in which ZmCCT directly repressed the transcription of the florigen gene ZCN8 via ZmEhd1. Our results suggest that transposable elements play an important role in maize adaptation.

Medienart:	E-Artikel

Erscheinungsjahr:	2021
Erschienen:	2021

Enthalten in:	Zur Gesamtaufnahme - volume:134
Enthalten in:	TAG. Theoretical and applied genetics. Theoretische und angewandte Genetik - 134(2021), 9 vom: 05. Sept., Seite 2841-2855

Sprache:	Englisch

Beteiligte Personen:	Zhong, Shuyang [VerfasserIn] Liu, Hangqin [VerfasserIn] Li, Yan [VerfasserIn] Lin, Zhongwei [VerfasserIn]

Links:	Volltext

Themen:	DNA Transposable Elements Journal Article Plant Proteins

Anmerkungen:	Date Completed 01.10.2021 Date Revised 25.04.2022 published: Print-Electronic Citation Status MEDLINE

doi:	10.1007/s00122-021-03862-7

funding:
Förderinstitution / Projekttitel:

PPN (Katalog-ID):	NLM325674035