A Glu209Lys substitution in DRG1/TaACT7, which disturbs F-actin organization, reduces plant height and grain length in bread wheat

Abstract

Plant height and grain size are two important agronomic traits that are closely related to crop yield. Numerous dwarf and grain-shape mutants have been studied to identify genes that can be used to increase crop yield and improve breeding programs. In this study, we characterized a dominant mutant, dwarf and round grain 1 (drg1-D), in bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). drg1-D plants exhibit multiple phenotypic changes, including dwarfism, round grains, and insensitivity to brassinosteroids (BR). Cell structure observation in drg1-D mutant plants showed that the reduced organ size is due to irregular cell shape. Using map-based cloning and verification in transgenic plants, we found that a Glu209Lys substitution in the DRG1 protein is responsible for the irregular cell size and arrangement in the drg1-D mutant. DRG1/TaACT7 encodes an actin family protein that is essential for polymerization stability and microfilament (MF) formation. In addition, the BR response and vesicular transport were altered by the abnormal actin cytoskeleton in drg1-D mutant plants. Our study demonstrates that DRG1/TaACT7 plays an important role in wheat cell shape determination by modulating actin organization and intracellular material transport, which could in the longer term provide tools to better understand the polymerization of actin and its assembly into filaments and arrays.

Keywords: actin; grain shape; map-based cloning; plant height; wheat.