The red/far-red light photoreceptor FvePhyB regulates tissue elongation and anthocyanin accumulation in woodland strawberry

Abstract

Light is an important environmental signal that influences plant growth and development. Among the photoreceptors, phytochromes can sense red/far-red light to coordinate various biological processes. However, their functions in strawberry are not yet known. In this study, we identified an EMS mutant, named P8, in woodland strawberry (Fragaria vesca) that showed greatly increased plant height and reduced anthocyanin content. Mapping-by-sequencing revealed that the causal mutation in FvePhyB leads to premature termination of translation. The light treatment assay revealed that FvePhyB is a bona fide red/far-red light photoreceptor, as it specifically inhibits hypocotyl length under red light. Transcriptome analysis showed that the FvePhyB mutation affects the expression levels of genes involved in hormone synthesis and signaling and anthocyanin biosynthesis in petioles and fruits. The srl mutant with a longer internode is caused by a mutation in the DELLA gene FveRGA1 (Repressor of GA1) in the gibberellin pathway. We found that the P8 srl double mutant has much longer internodes than srl, suggesting a synergistic role of FvePhyB and FveRGA1 in this process. Taken together, these results demonstrate the important role of FvePhyB in regulating plant architecture and anthocyanin content in woodland strawberry.

Acknowledgements

We thank Dr Hongli Lian (Shanghai Jiao Tong University) for comments on the manuscript. This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (32172539) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (2662022YLPY002).

Author contributions

Q.G. and C.K. conceived and designed the experiments. Q.G., S.H., X.W., F.H., and H.L. performed the experiments. Z.L. supervised the project. Q.G. and C.K. wrote the manuscript. All authors have read and approved the manuscript.

Data availability

All relevant data can be found within the manuscript and its supplementary materials. The transcriptome reads have been submitted to the Sequence Read Archive at NCBI. The accession number is PRJNA997061.

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

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