Control of ovule development in Vitis vinifera by VvMADS28 and interacting genes

Abstract

Seedless grapes are increasingly popular throughout the world, and the development of seedless varieties is a major breeding goal. In this study, we demonstrate an essential role for the grapevine MADS-box gene VvMADS28 in morphogenesis of the ovule. We found that VvMADS28 mRNA accumulated in the ovules of a seeded cultivar, ‘Red Globe’, throughout the course of ovule and seed development, especially within the integument/seed coat. In contrast, in the seedless cultivar ‘Thompson Seedless’, VvMADS28 was expressed only weakly in ovules, and this was associated with increased levels of histone H3 lysine 27 trimethylation (H3K27me3) within the VvMADS28 promoter region. RNAi-mediated transient suppression of VvMADS28 expression in ‘Red Globe’ led to reduced seed size associated with inhibition of episperm and endosperm cell development. Heterologous overexpression of VvMADS28 in transgenic tomatoes interfered with sepal development and resulted in smaller fruit but did not obviously affect seed size. Assays in yeast cells showed that VvMADS28 is subject to regulation by the transcription factor VvERF98, and that VvMADS28 could interact with the Type I/M β MADS-domain protein VvMADS5. Moreover, through DNA-affinity purification-sequencing (DAP-seq), we found that VvMADS28 protein specifically binds to the promoter of the grapevine WUSCHEL ( VvWUS) gene, suggesting that maintenance of the VvMADS28–VvMADS5 dimer and VvWUS expression homeostasis influences seed development. Taken together, our results provide insight into regulatory mechanisms of ovule and seed development associated with VvMADS28.

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (U1603234), the Program for Innovative Research Team of Grape Germplasm Resources and Breeding (2013KCT-25), the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Tianchi Talent – Special Expert Project, and the Natural Science Youth Foundation of Hebei, China (C2021204146).

Author contributions

S.Z. and X.W. designed the study. S.Z., L.W., and J.Y. carried out the majority of the experiments. N.W., B.A., J.W., and R.A. assisted with the analysis of the results. Z.L., X.W. and L.W. provided guidance on the study. S.Z. and S.V.N. wrote the manuscript. All the authors approved the ultimate manuscript.

Date availability

All relevant data are included in the article and its supporting materials.

Conflict of interest

There are no competing interests in this paper, and the authors do not have any possible conflict of interest.

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