MiR397b regulates both lignin content and seed number in Arabidopsis via modulating a laccase involved in lignin biosynthesis

Plant laccase (LAC) enzymes belong to the blue copper oxidase family and polymerize monolignols into lignin. Recent studies have established the involvement of microRNAs in this process; however, physiological functions and regulation of plant laccases remain poorly understood. Here, we show that a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Plant biotechnology journal 2014-10, Vol.12 (8), p.1132-1142
Main Authors: Wang, Cong‐Ying, Zhang, Shengchun, Yu, Yang, Luo, Yu‐Chun, Liu, Qing, Ju, Changliang, Zhang, Yu‐Chan, Qu, Liang‐Hu, Lucas, William J, Wang, Xiaojing, Chen, Yue‐Qin
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Arabidopsis
Arabidopsis - enzymology
Arabidopsis - genetics
Arabidopsis - growth & development
Arabidopsis Proteins - genetics
Arabidopsis Proteins - metabolism
Arabidopsis thaliana
biomass production
Biosynthesis
Cell Wall - metabolism
Copper
Crop yield
Enzymes
Fibers
Flowering
Flowering plants
Flowers & plants
fruits
Gene Expression
Gene Expression Regulation, Plant
gene overexpression
Genes
Laccase
Laccase - genetics
Laccase - metabolism
Lignin
Lignin - analysis
Lignin - biosynthesis
Meristem - genetics
Meristem - growth & development
messenger RNA
microRNA
MicroRNAs
MicroRNAs - genetics
miR397
miRNA
mRNA
Phenotype
Phenotypes
Plant biomass
Plant Shoots - genetics
Plant Shoots - growth & development
Plant tissues
Plant Vascular Bundle - genetics
Plant Vascular Bundle - growth & development
Plants (botany)
Plants, Genetically Modified
polymerization
Proteins
seed yield
Seeds
Seeds - genetics
Seeds - growth & development
shoots
silique
Transgenic plants
Vascular tissue
vascular tissues
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Summary:Plant laccase (LAC) enzymes belong to the blue copper oxidase family and polymerize monolignols into lignin. Recent studies have established the involvement of microRNAs in this process; however, physiological functions and regulation of plant laccases remain poorly understood. Here, we show that a laccase gene, LAC4, regulated by a microRNA, miR397b, controls both lignin biosynthesis and seed yield in Arabidopsis. In transgenic plants, overexpression of miR397b (OXmiR397b) reduced lignin deposition. The secondary wall thickness of vessels and the fibres was reduced in the OXmiR397b line, and both syringyl and guaiacyl subunits are decreased, leading to weakening of vascular tissues. In contrast, overexpression of miR397b‐resistant laccase mRNA results in an opposite phenotype. Plants overexpressing miR397b develop more than two inflorescence shoots and have an increased silique number and silique length, resulting in higher seed numbers. In addition, enlarged seeds and more seeds are formed in these miR397b overexpression plants. The study suggests that miR397‐mediated development via regulating laccase genes might be a common mechanism in flowering plants and that the modulation of laccase by miR397 may be potential for engineering plant biomass production with less lignin.
ISSN:1467-7644
1467-7652
DOI:10.1111/pbi.12222