Abstract
Tassel branch number (TBN) is a key agronomic trait for adapting to high-density planting and grain yield in maize. However, the molecular regulatory mechanisms underlying tassel branching are still largely unknown. Here, we used molecular and genetic studies together to show that ZmELF3.1 plays a critical role in regulating TBN in maize. Previous studies showed that ZmELF3.1 forms the evening complex through interacting with ZmELF4 and ZmLUX to regulate flowering in maize and that RA2 and TSH4 (ZmSBP2) suppresses and promotes TBN in maize, respectively. In this study, we show that loss-of-function mutants of ZmELF3.1 exhibit a significant increase of TBN. We also show that RA2 directly binds to the promoter of TSH4 and represses its expression, thus leading to reduced TBN. We further demonstrate that ZmELF3.1 directly interacts with both RA2 and ZmELF4.2 to form tri-protein complexes that further enhance the binding of RA2 to the promoter of TSH4, leading to suppressed TSH4 expression and consequently decreased TBN. Our combined results establish a novel functional link between the ELF3-ELF4-RA2 complex and miR156-SPL regulatory module in regulating tassel branching and provide a valuable target for genetic improvement of tassel branching in maize.
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Claims 4
Claim · model-written summary
Loss-of-function mutants of ZmELF3.1 showed a significant increase in tassel branch number in maize.
Zea maysNot reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Tassel branch number (TBN) is a key agronomic trait for adapting to high-density planting and grain yield in maize”
e1“we show that loss-of-function mutants of ZmELF3.1 exhibit a significant increase of TBN”
Claim · model-written summary
RA2 binds the TSH4 promoter and represses its expression, reducing tassel branch number in maize.
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Tassel branch number (TBN) is a key agronomic trait for adapting to high-density planting and grain yield in maize”
e2“RA2 directly binds to the promoter of TSH4 and represses its expression, thus leading to reduced TBN”
Claim · model-written summary
ZmELF3.1 interacts with RA2 and ZmELF4.2 to form tri-protein complexes that enhance RA2 binding to the TSH4 promoter and decrease tassel branch number in maize.
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Tassel branch number (TBN) is a key agronomic trait for adapting to high-density planting and grain yield in maize”
e3“ZmELF3.1 directly interacts with both RA2 and ZmELF4.2 to form tri-protein complexes that further enhance the binding of RA2 to the promoter of TSH4, leading to suppressed TSH4 expression and consequently decreased TBN”
Claim · model-written summary
The ELF3-ELF4-RA2 complex and the miR156-SPL module together link to the regulation of tassel branching in maize.
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Tassel branch number (TBN) is a key agronomic trait for adapting to high-density planting and grain yield in maize”
e4“Our combined results establish a novel functional link between the ELF3-ELF4-RA2 complex and miR156-SPL regulatory module in regulating tassel branching”