Abstract:
To explore the regulatory network of
NtHD9 involved in the formation of long glandular trichomes (LGTs), analyses were conducted on
NtHD9-SM,
NtHD9-DM,
NtHD9-OE plants. The expression levels of genes involved in jasmonic acid (JA) synthesis, metabolism and signal transduction were examined in wild-type (WT) and
NtHD9 transgenic plants. Results revealed that both the size of glandular heads in LGTs and JA content followed the same order across the four lines:
NtHD9-OE>WT>
NtHD9-SM>
NtHD9-DM. With increasing concentrations of methyl jasmonate (MeJA), the densities and sizes of LGT glandular heads in
NtHD9-SM and
NtHD9-DM plants increased, with head morphology normalizing at 200 μmol/L MeJA. RT-qPCR analysis revealed that
NtHD9 expression was positively correlated with JA synthesis-related gene (
LOX1,
AOS and
AOC2), JA metabolic gene (
JAR1), JA signal transduction gene
CYP94C1, several NtJAZ family members (
NtJAZ3,
NtJAZ5 and
NtJAZ7), and NtHD-ZIP Ⅳ family members (
NtHD3,
NtHD7,
NtHD9, NtHD11 and
NtHD12). These genes exhibited decreased expression in
NtHD9-SM and
NtHD9-DM plants, while increased expression in
NtHD9-OE plants. Conversely, three JA signaling-related genes (
WRKY62,
WRKY68 and
NtJAZ12) showed the opposite trend, showing increased expression in
NtHD9-SM and
NtHD9-DM plants, and decreased expression in
NtHD9-OE plants. These results indicatethat
NtHD9 positively regulates the formation of glandular head in LGTs through JA signaling pathway in tobacco.