Growth and root sucker ability of field-grown transgenic poplars overexpressing xyloglucanase
2012
Taniguchi, Toru | Konagaya, Ken-ichi | Kurita, Manabu | Takata, Naoki | Ishii, Katsuaki | Kondo, Teiji | Funahashi, Fumiaki | Ohta, Seiichi | Kaku, Tomomi | Baba, Kei’ichi | Kaida, Rumi | Hayashi, Takahisa
Xyloglucan is thought to be a key hemicellulose cross-linking adjacent cellulose microfibrils in plant cell walls. The growth traits of transgenic poplars (Populus alba) with decreased xyloglucan from overexpression of Aspergillus aculeatus xyloglucanase were characterized during a 4-year field trial. The field-trial site consisted of two blocks, a fertile soil block and a non-fertile soil block, determined by soil analysis. In the fertile block, the growth of aboveground biomass of the transgenic poplars was reduced to 24–44 % compared to that of wild-type poplars, in contrast to the growth seen in chamber and greenhouse conditions. In the non-fertile block, the aboveground biomass of transgenic poplars was also smaller than that of the wild-type poplars. Because poplars reproduce asexually by root suckers, we also compared the formation of root suckers from transgenic and wild-type poplars. Root suckers formed less frequently from transgenic poplars than from wild-type poplars. The growth rates of root suckers from transgenic poplars were also slower than those from wild-type poplars. The results showed that constitutive degradation of xyloglucan impairs poplar growth and vegetative reproduction ability.
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