AUTHOR=Tian Qiuye , Xu Mengli , Wu Dongchen , Wang Chaoping , Wang Xianlin , Che Qinqin , Li Zhengnan , Xu Xiaozhao 

TITLE=Integrated transgene and transcriptome reveal the molecular basis of MdWRKY87 positively regulate adventitious rooting in apple rootstock

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=14

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2023.1136616

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2023.1136616

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=<p>For most fruit and forest species vegetative propagated from elite genotypes, adventitious rooting is essential. The ability to form adventitious roots significantly decreased during the juvenile to adult phase change. Apart from the miR156-SPL pathway, whether there is another regulation mechanism controlling age-dependent adventitious rooting ability remained largely unknown. In the present study, we showed that <italic>MdWRKY87</italic> expression level was positively correlation with adventitious rooting ability. In addition, over-expressing of <italic>MdWRKY87</italic> in tobacco leads to enhanced adventitious rooting ability, more adventitious root number and accelerated adventitious rooting process. Comparative transcriptome profiling indicated that <italic>MdWRKY87</italic> overexpression can activate the expression of adventitious rooting-induced genes, such as <italic>WOX11</italic> and <italic>AIL</italic>. In addition, <italic>MdWRKY87</italic> overexpression can inhibit the transcription of adventitious rooting-repressed genes, such as <italic>AUX/IAAs</italic> and type-B cytokinin <italic>RRs</italic>. Collectively, here we demonstrated that higher expression level of <italic>MdWRKY87</italic> contributes to age-dependent adventitious rooting-competent in juvenile apple rootstock.</p>