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ARS Home » Plains Area » Fargo, North Dakota » Edward T. Schafer Agricultural Research Center » Cereal Crops Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #371111
Research Project: Improvement of Biotic Stress Resistance in Durum and Hard Red Spring Wheat Using Genetics and Genomics

Location: Cereal Crops Research

Title: Genetic localization of the SPC gene controlling pod coiling direction in Medicago truncatula

Author
item YU, XIAOCHENG - University Of Kentucky
item QIN, QIULIN - University Of Kentucky
item WU, XIA - University Of Kentucky
item LI, DANDAN - North Dakota State University
item Yang, Shengming

Submitted to: Genes and Genomics
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/12/2020
Publication Date: 5/24/2020
Citation: Yu, X., Qin, Q., Wu, X., Li, D., Yang, S. 2020. Genetic localization of the SPC gene controlling pod coiling direction in Medicago truncatula. Genes and Genomics. 42:735-742. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13258-020-00947-3.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13258-020-00947-3

Interpretive Summary: Handedness in plants introduced by helical growth of organs is frequently observed, and it has fascinated plant scientists for decades. However, the genetic mechanism underlying plant handedness is unknown. In the present study, we used the model legume Medicago truncatula to finely map the SPC gene controlling pod coiling direction. The SPC gene was delimited to a 250 kb-region on Chromosome 7, and two promising candidate genes were selected for functional validation. Our work provided a high-resolution genetic map for SPC, laying a foundation for cloning of this interesting gene.

Technical Abstract: Handedness in plants introduced by helical growth of organs is frequently observed, and it has fascinated plant scientists for decades. However, The genetic control of natural handedness has not been revealed. In the model legume Medicago truncatula, pods can be coiled in a clockwise or anti-clockwise manner. The genetic analysis indicated that the anti-clockwise coiling is dominant to clockwise and is controlled by a single gene. In the present study, we finely mapped the Sense of Pod Coiling (SPC) gene controlling pod coiling direction in M. truncatula. The SPC gene was delimited to a 250 kb-region on Chromosome 7. Total of 15 protein-coding genes were identified in the SPC locus through gene annotation and sequence analysis. Of those, two genes, potentially encoding a receptor-like kinase and a vacuolar cation/proton exchanger respectively, were selected as candidates for the SPC gene. The result presented here lay a foundation for gene cloning of SPC, which will help us to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying organ helical growth in plant.