A transcript profiling approach reveals an abscisic acid-specific glycosyltransferase (UGT73C14) induced in developing fiber of Ligon lintless-2 mutant of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.)

PLoS One. 2013 Sep 23;8(9):e75268. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0075268. eCollection 2013.

Abstract

Ligon lintless-2, a monogenic dominant cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) fiber mutation, causing extreme reduction in lint fiber length with no pleiotropic effects on vegetative growth, represents an excellent model system to study fiber elongation. A UDP-glycosyltransferase that was highly expressed in developing fibers of the mutant Ligon lintless-2 was isolated. The predicted amino acid sequence showed ~53% similarity with Arabidopsis UGT73C sub-family members and the UDP-glycosyltransferase was designated as UGT73C14. When expressed in Escherichia coli as a recombinant protein with a maltose binding protein tag, UGT73C14 displayed enzymatic activity toward ABA and utilized UDP-glucose and UDP-galactose as the sugar donors. The recombinant UGT73C14 converted natural occurring isoform (+)-cis, trans-ABA better than (+)-trans, trans-ABA and (-)-cis, trans-ABA. Transgenic Arabidopsis plants constitutively overexpressing UGT73C14 did not show phenotypic changes under standard growth conditions. However, the increased glycosylation of ABA resulted in phenotypic changes in post-germinative growth and seedling establishment, confirming in vivo activity of UGT73C14 for ABA. This suggests that the expression level of UGT73C14 is regulated by the observed elevated levels of ABA in developing fibers of the Li 2 mutant line and may be involved in the regulation of ABA homeostasis.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Abscisic Acid / metabolism
  • Abscisic Acid / physiology*
  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Arabidopsis / genetics
  • Arabidopsis / metabolism
  • Cotton Fiber*
  • Escherichia coli
  • Gene Expression Profiling
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Plant / physiology*
  • Glycosyltransferases / genetics
  • Glycosyltransferases / metabolism*
  • Gossypium / genetics*
  • Homeostasis / physiology*
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Plants, Genetically Modified
  • Sequence Homology

Substances

  • Abscisic Acid
  • Glycosyltransferases

Grants and funding

This research was funded by United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service project number 6435-21000-017-00D and Cotton Incorporated project number 12-210. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.