<i>WUSCHEL-D1</i> upregulation enhances grain number by inducing formation of multiovary-producing florets in wheat

Innovative genetic improvements in food crops are needed to maintain global food security. Here, we report the map-based cloning of <i>TaWUSCHEL-D1</i> (<i>WUS-D1</i>) as the gene responsible for the multiovary phenotype in wheat, which produces three fertile ovaries and grains per floret. We generated a 14.5 Gbp chromosome-level assembly of multiovary wheat line "MOV" that shows unique structural variation in the <i>Mov-1</i> physical region, resulting in widespread gene upregulation. High-resolution genetic mapping refined the locus to a 135 kbp region that contains two genes. We used nine independent deletion mutants, eight TILLING mutants, and genetic complementation of these genotypes to show that a <i>WUSCHEL</i> ortholog, <i>WUS-D1</i>, is the causal gene of the <i>Mov-1</i> locus. Expression studies showed that <i>WUS-D1</i> is highly expressed during early inflorescence development in MOV, whereas the gene is inactive in wild-type wheat. The higher <i>WUS-D1</i> expression is associated with the formation of larger meristems and floret primordia that are competent to produce multiple ovaries. These insights provide a foundation to manipulate floral organ numbers to enhance breeding capabilities of bread wheat.

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Publication Details

Journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Published
2025-10-14
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2510889122
Citations
2
Primary Topic
Wheat and Barley Genetics and Pathology
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
3.50

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article

WUSCHEL-D1 upregulation enhances grain number by inducing formation of multiovary-producing florets in wheat

Amanda M. Hulse‐Kemp, Nidhi Rawat, Bikram S. Gill, Leon V. Kochian et al.
2 citations
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Wheat and Barley Genetics and Pathology
3.50
article

WUSCHEL-D1 upregulation enhances grain number by inducing formation of multiovary-producing florets in wheat

Amanda M. Hulse‐Kemp, Nidhi Rawat, Bikram S. Gill, Leon V. Kochian, Weifeng Luo, Vijay Tiwari, Nathan Meier, Teagen D. Quilichini, Yong Gu, Daoquan Xiang, Annabel Whibley, Ramey C. Youngblood, Alex Mahlandt, Raju Datla, Scott A. Boden, Inderjit Singh Yadav, Cristóbal Uauy, Yi Chen, Parva Kumar Sharma, Angus Murphy, Amy M. Hill, Gina Brown‐Guedira, Prakash Venglat, Yiping Qi, Sheron Simpson, Anmol Kajla, Adam Schoen, Robert Sablowski, Peng Zhang, Sheng Wang, Yuqi Wang, Peng Gao, M. Willman, Huajin Sheng, Guilherme V. Yoshikawa, Daniel Rodriguez-Leal
article en
2 citations

Abstract

Innovative genetic improvements in food crops are needed to maintain global food security. Here, we report the map-based cloning of <i>TaWUSCHEL-D1</i> (<i>WUS-D1</i>) as the gene responsible for the multiovary phenotype in wheat, which produces three fertile ovaries and grains per floret. We generated a 14.5 Gbp chromosome-level assembly of multiovary wheat line "MOV" that shows unique structural variation in the <i>Mov-1</i> physical region, resulting in widespread gene upregulation. High-resolution genetic mapping refined the locus to a 135 kbp region that contains two genes. We used nine independent deletion mutants, eight TILLING mutants, and genetic complementation of these genotypes to show that a <i>WUSCHEL</i> ortholog, <i>WUS-D1</i>, is the causal gene of the <i>Mov-1</i> locus. Expression studies showed that <i>WUS-D1</i> is highly expressed during early inflorescence development in MOV, whereas the gene is inactive in wild-type wheat. The higher <i>WUS-D1</i> expression is associated with the formation of larger meristems and floret primordia that are competent to produce multiple ovaries. These insights provide a foundation to manipulate floral organ numbers to enhance breeding capabilities of bread wheat.

Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesVol. 122(42)
John Innes Centre (GB), Landscape Institute (GB), The University of Sydney (AU), Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (CA), United States Department of Agriculture (US), North Carolina State University (US), Lincoln University (NZ), Kansas State University (US), North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (US), University of Saskatchewan (CA), Carnegie Department of Plant Biology (US), Improvement Service (GB), Institut thématique Génétique, génomique et bioinformatique (FR), Agricultural Research Service - Southeast Area (US), Western Regional Research Center (US), Biocom (US), National Research Council Canada (CA), Global Institute for Water Security (CA), Saskatoon Research and Development Centre, The University of Adelaide (AU), University of Maryland, College Park (US), University of California, Davis (US), Punjab Agricultural University (IN), Mississippi State University (US)
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Mississippi State University, North Carolina State University, University of Sydney, Punjab Agricultural University, Alberta Wheat Commission, Yitpi Foundation, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Openalex Percentile: Top 7%
Wheat and Barley Genetics and Pathology
3.50
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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