Improving Wheat Regeneration With Novel DOF Family Transcription Factors

May 10, 2023

Genetic transformation is a crucial aspect for gene functional research and crop improvement, but its effectiveness in wheat is currently limited. Regeneration capacity is vital for the genetic transformation efficiency.

Using Fielder, a wheat variety known for its high genetic transformation efficiency, researchers led by Prof. XIAO Jun from the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and Prof. ZHANG Xiansheng from Shandong Agricultural University investigated the transcriptional regulation and chromatin landscape dynamics during the wheat regeneration process.

This study, which led to the discovery of the novel transcription factors DOF3.4 and DOF5.6, was found to improve both the efficiency of regeneration and genetic transformation even in JM22, a commonly grown winter wheat variety in China with notoriously low transformation rates. Results were published in Nature Plants on May 4.

In this study, the researchers found a robust correlation between sequential gene expression and altered chromatin accessibility during wheat regeneration. To better understand this relationship, comprehensive transcriptional regulatory networks were constructed using RNA-seq and ATAC-seq data, resulting in the discovery of 446 key transcription factors.

During the early callus induction phase of wheat regeneration, two DNA binding with one finger (DOF) genes were selectively activated, in comparison with the Arabidopsis regeneration process, during which the Lateral organ Boundary Domain (LBD) family genes are induced. Furthermore, the researchers reported the beneficial effects of these genes on the process of wheat regeneration.

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Video: Why Invest in Canada’s Seed Future? | On The Brink: Episode 3

Darcy Unger just invested millions to build a brand-new seed plant on his farm in Stonewall, Manitoba so when it’s time for his sons to take over, they have the tools they need to succeed.

Right now, 95% of the genetics they’ll be growing come from Canadian plant breeders.

That number matters.

When fusarium hit Western Canada in the late 90s, it was Canadian breeders who responded, because they understood Canadian conditions. That ability to react quickly to what’s happening on Canadian farms is exactly what’s at risk when breeding programs lose funding.

For farmers like Darcy, who have made generational investments based on the assumption that better genetics will keep coming, the stakes are direct and personal.

We’re on the brink of decisions that will shape our agricultural future for not only our generation, but also the ones to come.

What direction will we choose?

On The Brink is a year-long video series traveling across Canada to meet the researchers, breeders, farmers, seed companies, and policymakers shaping the future of Canadian plant breeding. Each week, a new story. Each story, a piece of the bigger picture.

Episode 3 is above. Follow Seed World Canada to catch every episode, and tell us: Do you think the next generation will have the tools they need to success when they takeover? How is the future going to look?