The AT-HOOK MOTIF CONTAINING NUCLEAR LOCALIZED gene promotes somatic embryogenesis and polyploidy formation in Liriodendron hybrids.
Tang Y, Zhao Q, Li J, Yang D, Lu L
Propagation
The towering tulip poplar lighting up eastern forests with orange-and-green blooms each spring could soon be bred into climate-tougher, faster-propagating forms — without years of traditional crossbreeding.
Scientists found a single gene in a hybrid tulip tree that works like a master switch for two separate tricks. First, it makes it far easier to grow whole new trees from ordinary cells in a lab dish — no seeds or cuttings needed. Second, it accidentally doubles the tree's chromosomes, producing a beefier version of the plant that's often more stress-tolerant. This could make it much faster to produce tough, large-growing tulip trees suited to a warming climate.
Key Findings
Overexpressing the LhAHL15 gene significantly improved both somatic embryogenesis efficiency and embryogenic callus induction in hybrid tulip trees by upregulating key developmental genes including BBM, LEC1, PIN1, PLT2, ARR7, and ARF12.
Flow cytometry confirmed that chromosome number in LhAHL15-overexpressing plants was approximately twice that of controls, demonstrating induced polyploidy.
LhAHL15 promoter activity begins at the earliest stages of embryo development and remains active through all embryo stages — spherical, heart-shaped, torpedo-shaped, and cotyledonary — marking it as a core regulator throughout somatic embryogenesis.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Researchers identified a gene in hybrid tulip trees that, when overexpressed, both boosts the efficiency of growing new plants from ordinary cells and triggers chromosome doubling — effectively creating a molecular shortcut to polyploid breeding without traditional crossing methods.
Abstract Preview
This study reveals that LhAH15 is localized to the nucleus and functions as a transcription factor involved in somatic embryogenesis. LhAH15 enhances both somatic embryogenesis effi ciency and embr...
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Liriodendron tulipifera—known as the tulip tree, American tulip tree, tulipwood, tuliptree, tulip poplar, whitewood, fiddletree, lynn-tree, hickory-poplar, and yellow-poplar—is the North American representative of the two-species genus Liriodendron. It is native to eastern North America from Sout...