Identification of Regulatory Factors Promoting Embryogenic Callus Formation in Barley Through Transcriptome Analysis
Abstract Background: Barley is known to be recalcitrant to tissue culture, which hinders genetic transformation and its biotechnological application. To date, the ideal explant for transformation is still limited to immature embryos; however, the mechanism underlying embryonic callus formation remains elusive.Results: The aim of this study was to uncover the differential transcription regulation pathways between immature embryo (IME)- and mature embryo (ME)-derived callus formation through transcriptome sequencing. We showed that incubation of embryos on auxin-rich medium caused dramatic changes in gene expression profiles within 48 h. A total of 9330 and 11318 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were found in the IME and ME systems, respectively. Protein phosphorylation, regulation of transcription, and oxidative-reduction process were the most common gene ontology categories of DEGs specific to the IME system. Twenty-three IAA, 14 ARF, 8 SAUR, 3 YUC, and 4 PIN genes were found to be differentially expressed during callus formation. The effect of callus-inducing medium (CIM) on IAA genes was broader in the IME system than in the IM system, indicating that auxin response and transport cooperate in regulating cell reprogramming during callus formation. BBM, LEC1 and PLT2 exhibited a significant increase in expression level during IME system but were not activated in the ME system, WUS showed a more substantial growth trend in the IME system than in the ME system, suggesting that these embryonic, shoot, and root meristems genes play crucial roles in determining the acquisition of competency. In addition, epigenetic regulators—including SUVH3A, SUVH2A, HDA19B/703—exhibited differential expression patterns between the two induction systems, indicating that epigenetic reprogramming might contribute to gene expression activation/suppression in this process. Furthermore, we examined the effect of ectopic expression of HvBBM and HvWUS on Agrobacterium-mediated barley transformation. The transformation efficiency was increased by three times in the group expressing the PLTPpro:HvBBM +Axig1pro:HvWUS construct, compared to that in the control (empty vector), which was due to an enhancement of plant regeneration capacity. Conclusions: We identified some regulatory factors that might contribute to the differential responses of the two explants to callus induction and provide a promising strategy to improve transformation efficiency in barley.