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ARTICLE
Application of VIGS system to explore the function of common wheat TaADF7
HUIZE CHEN1,2,*, XINGTIAN JIA1,2, HAIYAN RAN1,2, JINGRONG NIU1,2, MEITING DU1
1 Higher Education Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular and Environmental Stress Response, Shanxi Normal University, Linfen, 041000, China
2 School of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Linfen, 041000, China
* Corresponding Author: HUIZE CHEN. Email:
(This article belongs to this Special Issue: Advances in Plant Cell Biology Research)
BIOCELL 2022, 46(2), 559-565. https://doi.org/10.32604/biocell.2022.017437
Received 10 May 2021; Accepted 07 July 2021; Issue published 20 October 2021
Abstract
As an allohexaploid plant, common wheat has a complex gene structure, making it difficult to study its gene function. Virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) is an important tool for the rapid analysis of plant gene function. In this study, the gene silencing system, namely, barley stripe mosaic virus (BSMV)-VIGS induced by BSMV was used to silence the wheat phytoene desaturase (
TaPDS) and actin depolymerization factor (
TaADF7) genes and determine the effect of gene silencing on wheat.
TaPDS was used as an indicator gene to determine the feasibility of VIGS system, while
TaADF7 was used as a test gene to determine its effect on wheat growth. Results showed that the leaves of tobacco and wheat were bleached by the mixture of
pCaBS-α,
pCaBS-β, and
pCaBS-γ::TaPDS, indicating that the
TaPDS gene was silenced, and the bleached leaves had physiological activity as determined by trypan blue staining. Therefore, the VIGS system was efficient and available. After the tobacco was treated with
pCaBS-α,
pCaBS-β, and
pCaBS-γ::TaADF7, the viral suspension was obtained. The expression of
TaADF7 gene was downregulated after wheat leaves were infected by friction, indicating that the expression of
TaADF7 was silenced. Laser confocal scanning microscopy showed that the silencing of
TaADF7 enhanced the fluorescence of microfilament skeleton in mesophyll protoplasts and significantly reduced the plant height. Results showed that
TaADF7 affected cell division and plant growth by inhibiting microfilament depolymerization. In conclusion, the BSMV-VIGS system was used to silence wheat
TaPDS and
TaADF7 genes. Bleaching phenomenon was observed in wheat leaves after
TaPDS silencing. After
TaADF7 silencing, microfilaments in wheat mesophyll cells gathered into coarse bundles, which affected the dynamics of microfilaments and inhibited plant growth.
Keywords
Cite This Article
CHEN, H., JIA, X., RAN, H., NIU, J., DU, M. (2022). Application of VIGS system to explore the function of common wheat TaADF7.
BIOCELL, 46(2), 559–565.