Doubled chromosomes help this leafy green beat the cold
Wang J, Zheng Y, Wang W, Hou J, Tang X
Climate Adaptation
If you've ever lost cold-sensitive greens to an early frost, this points to a built-in trick, extra chromosome copies paired with DNA tagging, that some plants already use to shrug off chilly nights.
Researchers compared two versions of wucai, a leafy green related to cabbage and mustard: one with the normal number of chromosomes and one with double. The doubled version handled cold stress much better, partly because a small chemical tag on its DNA kept a key defense gene switched on instead of silencing it. Spraying plants with a drug that removes these tags boosted the gene's activity and made them hardier in the cold, hinting at new ways to breed frost-tougher vegetables.
Key Findings
Tetraploid (doubled-chromosome) wucai showed greater cold tolerance than diploid wucai, linked to stronger glucosinolate-related gene activity and metabolite changes.
Diploid plants accumulated more CHH-type DNA methylation in stress gene promoters under cold, which silenced the glucosinolate gene BcMAM1; tetraploids showed the opposite methylation trend and kept BcMAM1 active.
Treating plants with the demethylating drug 5-azacytidine boosted BcMAM1 expression and improved cold tolerance, and the transcription factor BcCBF4 was shown to bind the BcMAM1 promoter in a methylation-sensitive way.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Scientists found that a four-chromosome-set version of a Chinese vegetable called wucai survives cold snaps better than its normal two-set relative, and the secret is a chemical tag on its DNA that controls a flavor-compound gene. This could help breeders design cold-hardy crops without altering the DNA sequence itself.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
CHH demethylation of the BcMAM1 promoter contributes to cold tolerance in autotetraploid wucai (Brassica campestris L.).
Polyploidization has long been recognized as a driving force in plant adaptation to adverse environments. Chilling injury poses a major challenge to global crop production, and the regulatory hiera...
open_in_new Read full abstractAbstract copyright held by the original publisher.
Species Mentioned
Was this useful?
Want to tell us more? (optional)
Thanks for the note!
Something went wrong — please try again.
Too many submissions. Try again in an hour.
Targeted knockout of a host peroxisomal peptidase confers field resistance to...
The corn in your grocery store and the staple food keeping millions of East African families fed is under serious threat from a viral disease that can wipe o...
Wucai is a style of decorating white Chinese porcelain in a limited range of colours. It normally uses underglaze cobalt blue for the design outline and some parts of the images, and overglaze enamels in red, green, and yellow for the rest of the designs. Parts of the design, and some outlines of...