TaERF73 is associated with root depth, thousand ‐grain weight and plant height in wheat over a range of environmental conditions

In this study, a novel ERF geneTaERF73 was cloned from wheat. qRT-PCR analysis showed thatTaERF73 is predominantly expressed in roots. It responds to treatments of auxin, MeJA, ABA, low temperature and drought stresses. Ectopic expression ofTaERF73 in rice caused short root length, indicating thatTaERF73 is a negative regulator of root growth. Four SNPs were detected inTaERF73-4B coding region through sequence polymorphism analysis. A dCAPS (derived cleaved amplified polymorphic sequence) molecular marker was developed based on the SNP at 119  bp (G/C) ofTaERF73-4B. Association analysis between genotypes and agronomic traits revealed thatHap-4B-2 is a haplotype ofTaERF73-4B associated with shorter plant height, higher thousand-grain weight and longer root depth. The distributions of haplotypes in ten Chinese major wheat zones suggested thatHap-4B-2  has been positively selected in the breeding process. Together, the ERF geneTaERF73 is associated with root depth, plant height and thousand-grain weight under drought, heat and well-watered conditions. The molecular marker developed in this study could be a valuable source for marker-assisted selection and genetic improvement in wheat.
Source: Food and Energy Security - Category: Food Science Authors: Tags: ORIGINAL ARTICLE Source Type: research