First published online November 7, 2002; 10.1104/pp.009647
Plant Physiol, December 2002, Vol. 130, pp. 1860-1870
Genetic and Physiological Analysis of Germination Efficiency in
Maize in Relation to Nitrogen Metabolism Reveals the Importance of
Cytosolic Glutamine Synthetase
Anis M.
Limami,*
Clothilde
Rouillon,
Gaëlle
Glevarec,
André
Gallais, and
Bertrand
Hirel
Unité Mixte de Recherche Physiologie Moléculaire des
Semences, Université d'Angers, 2 Boulevard Lavoisier, 49045 Angers cedex, France (A.M.L., C.R., G.G.); Station de
Génétique Végétale du Moulon, Institut National
de la Recherche Agronomique-Université de Paris-Sud-Institut
National Agronomique Paris Grignon, Ferme du moulon, 91190 Gif/Yvette,
France (A.G.); and Unité de Nutrition Azotée des Plantes,
Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Route de St Cyr, 78026 Versailles cedex, France (B.H.)
We have developed an approach combining physiology and
quantitative genetics to enhance our understanding of nitrogen
(N) metabolism during kernel germination. The physiological
study highlighted the central role of glutamine (Gln) synthetase (GS) and Gln synthesis during this developmental process because a concomitant increase of both the enzyme activity and the amino acid
content was observed. This result suggests that Gln is acting either as
a sink for ammonium released during both storage protein degradation
and amino acid deamination or as a source for amino acid de novo
synthesis by transamination. In the two parental lines used for the
quantitative genetics approach, we found that the increase in Gln
occurred earlier in Io compared with F2, a result
consistent with its faster germinating capacity. The genetic study was
carried out on 140 F6 recombinant inbred lines derived from the cross
between F2 and Io. Quantitative trait locus mapping identified three quantitative trait loci (QTLs) related to germination trait (T50, time at which 50% of the kernels germinated) that explain
18.2% of the phenotypic variance; three QTLs related to a trait linked
to germination performance, kernel size/weight (thousand kernels
weight), that explain 17% of the phenotypic variance; two QTLs related
to GS activity at early stages of germination that explain 17.7% of
the phenotypic variance; and one QTL related to GS activity at late
stages of germination that explains 7.3% of the phenotypic variance.
Coincidences of QTL for germination efficiency and its components with
genes encoding cytosolic GS (GS1) and the corresponding enzyme activity
were detected, confirming the important role of the enzyme during the
germination process. A triple colocalization on chromosome 4 between
gln3 (a structural gene encoding GS1) and a QTL for GS
activity and T50 was found; whereas on chromosome 5, a QTL for GS
activity and thousand kernels weight colocalized with
gln4, another structural gene encoding GS1. This
observation suggests that for each gene, the corresponding enzyme
activity is of major importance for germination efficiency either
through the size of the grain or through its faster germinating capacity. Consistent with the possible nonoverlapping function of the
two GS1 genes, we found that in the parental line Io, the expression of
Gln3 was transiently enhanced during the first hours of
germination, whereas that of gln4 was constitutive.
*
Corresponding author; e-mail anis.limami{at}univ-angers.fr;
fax 332-4173-5352.
© 2002 American Society of Plant Biologists
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
|
|
 
C. Gimeno-Gilles, E. Lelievre, L. Viau, M. Malik-Ghulam, C. Ricoult, A. Niebel, N. Leduc, and A. M. Limami
ABA-Mediated Inhibition of Germination Is Related to the Inhibition of Genes Encoding Cell-Wall Biosynthetic and Architecture: Modifying Enzymes and Structural Proteins in Medicago truncatula Embryo Axis
Mol Plant,
January 1, 2009;
2(1):
108 - 119.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
D. S. Skopelitis, N. V. Paranychianakis, A. Kouvarakis, A. Spyros, E. G. Stephanou, and K. A. Roubelakis-Angelakis
The Isoenzyme 7 of Tobacco NAD(H)-Dependent Glutamate Dehydrogenase Exhibits High Deaminating and Low Aminating Activities in Vivo
Plant Physiology,
December 1, 2007;
145(4):
1726 - 1734.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A. Martin, J. Lee, T. Kichey, D. Gerentes, M. Zivy, C. Tatout, F. Dubois, T. Balliau, B. Valot, M. Davanture, et al.
Two Cytosolic Glutamine Synthetase Isoforms of Maize Are Specifically Involved in the Control of Grain Production
PLANT CELL,
November 1, 2006;
18(11):
3252 - 3274.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
K. Wakasa, H. Hasegawa, H. Nemoto, F. Matsuda, H. Miyazawa, Y. Tozawa, K. Morino, A. Komatsu, T. Yamada, T. Terakawa, et al.
High-level tryptophan accumulation in seeds of transgenic rice and its limited effects on agronomic traits and seed metabolite profile
J. Exp. Bot.,
September 1, 2006;
57(12):
3069 - 3078.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
F. Anzala, M.-C. Morere-Le Paven, S. Fournier, D. Rondeau, and A. M. Limami
Physiological and molecular aspects of aspartate-derived amino acid metabolism during germination and post-germination growth in two maize genotypes differing in germination efficiency
J. Exp. Bot.,
February 1, 2006;
57(3):
645 - 653.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
K. Ishimaru, T. Kashiwagi, N. Hirotsu, and Y. Madoka
Identification and physiological analyses of a locus for rice yield potential across the genetic background
J. Exp. Bot.,
October 1, 2005;
56(420):
2745 - 2753.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
W. M. Waterworth, M. K. Ashley, C. E. West, P. A. Sunderland, and C. M. Bray
A role for phosphorylation in the regulation of the barley scutellar peptide transporter HvPTR1 by amino acids
J. Exp. Bot.,
June 1, 2005;
56(416):
1545 - 1552.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
S. Bouton, L. Viau, E. Lelievre, and A. M. Limami
A gene encoding a protein with a proline-rich domain (MtPPRD1), revealed by suppressive subtractive hybridization (SSH), is specifically expressed in the Medicago truncatula embryo axis during germination
J. Exp. Bot.,
March 1, 2005;
56(413):
825 - 832.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
T. Terce-Laforgue, F. Dubois, S. Ferrario-Mery, M.-A. Pou de Crecenzo, R. Sangwan, and B. Hirel
Glutamate Dehydrogenase of Tobacco Is Mainly Induced in the Cytosol of Phloem Companion Cells When Ammonia Is Provided Either Externally or Released during Photorespiration
Plant Physiology,
December 1, 2004;
136(4):
4308 - 4317.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. Kikuchi, K. Shinozaki, and T. Hirayama
Stable Isotope Labeling of Arabidopsis thaliana for an NMR-Based Metabolomics Approach
Plant Cell Physiol.,
August 15, 2004;
45(8):
1099 - 1104.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
K. Ishimaru
Identification of a Locus Increasing Rice Yield and Physiological Analysis of Its Function
Plant Physiology,
November 1, 2003;
133(3):
1083 - 1090.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
