Tengfei Liu

BACKGROUND: Soybean (Glycine max [L.] Merr.) is one of the most important oil and protein crops. Ever-increasing soybean consumption necessitates the improvement of varieties for more efficient production. However, both correlations among different traits and genetic interactions among genes that affect a single trait pose a challenge to soybean breeding. RESULTS: To understand the genetic networks underlying phenotypic correlations, we collected 809 soybean accessions worldwide and phenotyped them for two years at three locations for 84 agronomic traits. Genome-wide association studies identified 245 significant genetic loci, among which 95 genetically interacted with other loci. We determined that 14 oil synthesis-related genes are responsible for fatty acid accumulation in soybean and function in line with an additive model. Network analyses demonstrated that 51 traits could be linked through the linkage disequilibrium of 115 associated loci and these links reflect phenotypic correlations. We revealed that 23 loci, including the known Dt1, E2, E1, Ln, Dt2, Fan, and Fap loci, as well as 16 undefined associated loci, have pleiotropic effects on different traits. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides insights into the genetic correlation among complex traits and will facilitate future soybean functional studies and breeding through molecular design.

Drought and high salinity are two major abiotic stresses that significantly affect agricultural crop productivity worldwide. Annexins are a multigene family that plays an essential role in plant stress responses and various cellular processes. Here, the AnnSp2 gene was cloned from drought-resistant wild tomato (Solanum pennellii) and functionally characterized in cultivated tomato. AnnSp2 protein was localized in the nucleus and had higher expression in leave, flower and fruit. It was induced by several phytohormones and some abiotic stresses. Tomato plants overexpressing AnnSp2 had increased tolerance to drought and salt stress, as determined by analysis of various physiological parameters. AnnSp2-transgenic plants were less sensitive to ABA during the seed germination and seedling stages. However, under drought stress, the ABA content significantly increased in the AnnSp2-overexpressing plants, inducing stomatal closure and reducing water loss, which underlay the plants' enhanced stress tolerance. Furthermore, scavenging reactive oxygen species (ROS), higher total chlorophyll content, lower lipid peroxidation levels, increased peroxidase activities (including APX, CAT and SOD) and higher levels of proline were observed in AnnSp2-overexpressing plants. These results indicate that overexpression of AnnSp2 in transgenic tomato improves salt and drought tolerance through ABA synthesis and the elimination of ROS.

Cold-induced sweetening (CIS) in potato is detrimental to the quality of processed products. Conversion of starch to reducing sugars (RS) by amylases is considered one of the main pathways in CIS but is not well studied. The amylase genes StAmy23, StBAM1, and StBAM9 were studied for their functions in potato CIS. StAmy23 is localized in the cytoplasm, whereas StBAM1 and StBAM9 are targeted to the plastid stroma and starch granules, respectively. Genetic transformation of these amylases in potatoes by RNA interference showed that β-amylase activity could be decreased in cold-stored tubers by silencing of StBAM1 and collective silencing of StBAM1 and StBAM9. However, StBAM9 silencing did not decrease β-amylase activity. Silencing StBAM1 and StBAM9 caused starch accumulation and lower RS, which was more evident in simultaneously silenced lines, suggesting functional redundancy. Soluble starch content increased in RNAi-StBAM1 lines but decreased in RNAi-StBAM9 lines, suggesting that StBAM1 may regulate CIS by hydrolysing soluble starch and StBAM9 by directly acting on starch granules. Moreover, StBAM9 interacted with StBAM1 on the starch granules. StAmy23 silencing resulted in higher phytoglycogen and lower RS accumulation in cold-stored tubers, implying that StAmy23 regulates CIS by degrading cytosolic phytoglycogen. Our findings suggest that StAmy23, StBAM1, and StBAM9 function in potato CIS with varying levels of impact.