BIG LEAF is a regulator of organ size and adventitious root formation in poplar.

Here we report the discovery through activation tagging and subsequent characterization of the BIG LEAF (BL) gene from poplar. In poplar, BL regulates leaf size via positively affecting cell proliferation. Up and downregulation of the gene led to increased and decreased leaf size, respectively, and...

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Main Authors: Yordan S Yordanov, Cathleen Ma, Elena Yordanova, Richard Meilan, Steven H Strauss, Victor B Busov
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2017-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5501567?pdf=render
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author Yordan S Yordanov
Cathleen Ma
Elena Yordanova
Richard Meilan
Steven H Strauss
Victor B Busov
author_facet Yordan S Yordanov
Cathleen Ma
Elena Yordanova
Richard Meilan
Steven H Strauss
Victor B Busov
author_sort Yordan S Yordanov
collection DOAJ
description Here we report the discovery through activation tagging and subsequent characterization of the BIG LEAF (BL) gene from poplar. In poplar, BL regulates leaf size via positively affecting cell proliferation. Up and downregulation of the gene led to increased and decreased leaf size, respectively, and these phenotypes corresponded to increased and decreased cell numbers. BL function encompasses the early stages of leaf development as native BL expression was specific to the shoot apical meristem and leaf primordia and was absent from the later stages of leaf development and other organs. Consistently, BL downregulation reduced leaf size at the earliest stages of leaf development. Ectopic expression in mature leaves resulted in continued growth most probably via sustained cell proliferation and thus the increased leaf size. In contrast to the positive effect on leaf growth, ectopic BL expression in stems interfered with and significantly reduced stem thickening, suggesting that BL is a highly specific activator of growth. In addition, stem cuttings from BL overexpressing plants developed roots, whereas the wild type was difficult to root, demonstrating that BL is a positive regulator of adventitious rooting. Large transcriptomic changes in plants that overexpressed BL indicated that BL may have a broad integrative role, encompassing many genes linked to organ growth. We conclude that BL plays a fundamental role in control of leaf size and thus may be a useful tool for modifying plant biomass productivity and adventitious rooting.
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spelling doaj.art-b69e03f1c99d4436b9a4b5a9164944db2022-12-21T18:55:57ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032017-01-01127e018052710.1371/journal.pone.0180527BIG LEAF is a regulator of organ size and adventitious root formation in poplar.Yordan S YordanovCathleen MaElena YordanovaRichard MeilanSteven H StraussVictor B BusovHere we report the discovery through activation tagging and subsequent characterization of the BIG LEAF (BL) gene from poplar. In poplar, BL regulates leaf size via positively affecting cell proliferation. Up and downregulation of the gene led to increased and decreased leaf size, respectively, and these phenotypes corresponded to increased and decreased cell numbers. BL function encompasses the early stages of leaf development as native BL expression was specific to the shoot apical meristem and leaf primordia and was absent from the later stages of leaf development and other organs. Consistently, BL downregulation reduced leaf size at the earliest stages of leaf development. Ectopic expression in mature leaves resulted in continued growth most probably via sustained cell proliferation and thus the increased leaf size. In contrast to the positive effect on leaf growth, ectopic BL expression in stems interfered with and significantly reduced stem thickening, suggesting that BL is a highly specific activator of growth. In addition, stem cuttings from BL overexpressing plants developed roots, whereas the wild type was difficult to root, demonstrating that BL is a positive regulator of adventitious rooting. Large transcriptomic changes in plants that overexpressed BL indicated that BL may have a broad integrative role, encompassing many genes linked to organ growth. We conclude that BL plays a fundamental role in control of leaf size and thus may be a useful tool for modifying plant biomass productivity and adventitious rooting.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5501567?pdf=render
spellingShingle Yordan S Yordanov
Cathleen Ma
Elena Yordanova
Richard Meilan
Steven H Strauss
Victor B Busov
BIG LEAF is a regulator of organ size and adventitious root formation in poplar.
PLoS ONE
title BIG LEAF is a regulator of organ size and adventitious root formation in poplar.
title_full BIG LEAF is a regulator of organ size and adventitious root formation in poplar.
title_fullStr BIG LEAF is a regulator of organ size and adventitious root formation in poplar.
title_full_unstemmed BIG LEAF is a regulator of organ size and adventitious root formation in poplar.
title_short BIG LEAF is a regulator of organ size and adventitious root formation in poplar.
title_sort big leaf is a regulator of organ size and adventitious root formation in poplar
url http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5501567?pdf=render
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