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Overexpression of blackberry RuEG6 reduces the leaf cellulose content in tobacco

  • Genetics & Evolutionary Biology - Short Communication
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Abstract

Endo-β-1,4-glucanase (EG, EC 3.2.1.4) is a cell wall hydrolase catalyzing cellulose degradation, which may be associated with cell wall modification and fruit softening. Here, we cloned and characterized the RuEG6 gene in blackberry based on our transcriptome data of Boysenberry. Compared with the full-length cDNA of RuEG6, the genomic DNA consisted of eight exons interrupted by seven introns similar to other EGs in Rosaceae. The RuEG6 amino acid sequence contained a putative cellulose-binding domain that was partially conserved in plant EGs. EGs in the woody plants were distinguished from those in the herbaceous plants. The expression of RuEG6 increased dramatically with fruit ripening, which coincided with the dynamics of total cellulase activity in fruits. Overexpression of RuEG6 in transgenic tobacco significantly reduced the cellulose and leaf dry matter contents in leaves, and this was simultaneously supported by increased cellulase activity and thinner leaf epidermal transections. Therefore, RuEG6 may be involved in cellulose degradation in blackberry fruits, which provides proof for further study of the functions of plant EGs during berry fruit softening.

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Data availability

The data supporting the conclusions of this study are included within the article.

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Acknowledgements

The research was funded by a grant from the National Nature Science Foundation of China (No.31600553), the “JBGS” Project of Seed Industry Revitalization in Jiangsu Province, China, [JBGS(2021)021] and the Central Finance Forestry Technology Promotion and Demonstration Project (SU [2021]TG08).

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Author notes

  1. Chunhong Zhang and Zhenhao Xiong have contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Botany, Jiangsu Province and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210014, People’s Republic of China

    Chunhong Zhang, Zhenhao Xiong, Lianfei Lyu & Wenlong Wu

  2. Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, College of Forestry, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, 210037, People’s Republic of China

    Weilin Li

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  1. Chunhong Zhang
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  2. Zhenhao Xiong
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Contributions

CZ and WW conceived and designed the project. ZX undertook the enzyme activity and molecular biology experiment. LL participated in the data analysis. CZ drafted the manuscript. WL and WW modified the manuscript. All authors have read and approved the manuscript for publication.

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Correspondence to Wenlong Wu.

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Zhang, C., Xiong, Z., Lyu, L. et al. Overexpression of blackberry RuEG6 reduces the leaf cellulose content in tobacco. Braz. J. Bot 46, 27–33 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40415-022-00856-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40415-022-00856-7

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