12-hydroxylauric acid, a novel growth regulator, promotes plant organ development - PubMed
2 hours ago
- #crop yield
- #auxin pathway
- #plant growth regulator
- Crop yield is largely determined by the size of harvestable organs, making understanding organ size mechanisms crucial for improving productivity.
- BnaA09.CYP78A9, a cytochrome P450 enzyme, is upregulated in long-silique rapeseed varieties by a transposable element insertion and acts as a pleiotropic regulator of yield-related traits.
- CRISPR knockout of cyp78a9 in rapeseed reduces silique length, seed size, and seed number per silique.
- BnaA09.CYP78A9 converts lauric acid to 12-hydroxylauric acid (12-HOLA), with levels 5.01-fold higher in long-silique materials compared to short-silique ones.
- Exogenous application of 12-HOLA increases silique/pod elongation and seed weight, boosting yield by up to 32.77% in Arabidopsis, 30.82% in rapeseed, and 30.14% in soybean.
- 12-HOLA also stimulates fruit expansion in horticultural crops, increasing fresh fruit weight by up to 24.13% in tomato and 22.96% in cucumber.
- Transcriptome analysis shows 12-HOLA upregulates genes involved in auxin biosynthesis, transport, and signaling, and promotes carbon metabolism in siliques.
- The findings highlight 12-HOLA as a natural plant growth regulator and CYP78A9 as a target for gene editing and molecular breeding to enhance crop yields.