Acta Agriculturae Boreali-Sinica ›› 2026, Vol. 41 ›› Issue (4): 87-98. doi: 10.7668/hbnxb.20196709

Special Issue: Biotechnology

• Crop Genetics & Breeding·Germplasm Resources·Biotechnology • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Functional Analysis of LaPLT5 in Bulblet Enlargement of Lilium

LIU Zhongxu1, AN Rui1, CHU Hongtao1, WANG Mengdi2, CHEN Yanzhu2, LI Xiaorui1, PAN Wenqiang3, CAO Li1, DU Yunpeng3   

  1. 1 Agriculture College of Yanbian University, Yanji 133002, China
    2 College of Landscape Architecture, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
    3 Institute of Grassland, Flowers and Ecology, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Beijing 100097, China
  • Received:2025-12-22 Published:2026-08-28

Abstract:

Bulblet enlargement is of significant importance for lily cultivation and breeding.The PLETHORA(PLT)transcription factors play a key regulatory role in plant organ expansion.This study used Lilium Tresor as experimental material to investigate the mechanism of the LaPLT5 gene during its bulblet enlargement process.By analyzing transcriptome data from small bulblets at stages S1 to S5 of Lilium Tresor,the LaPLT5 gene,which is potentially involved in bulblet enlargement,was identified.The gene was cloned from bulblet cDNA using molecular cloning techniques,and the structural characteristics of its encoded protein were predicted through bioinformatics analysis.The expression pattern of LaPLT5 during bulblet enlargement was examined using qRT-PCR,and its function was validated via virus-induced gene silencing(VIGS)and transient overexpression assays.The results showed that the LaPLT5 gene had a full length of 1 500 bp,encoding 499 amino acids,including 39 positively charged residues and 38 negatively charged residues.The protein had a relative molecular weight of 53 754.25,an instability index of 40.77,and an average hydrophilicity value of 0.56,indicating that it is an unstable hydrophobic protein.qRT-PCR analysis revealed that LaPLT5 expression was highest in the middle scale layers of Lilium Tresor bulblets,followed by that in small bulblets,and its expression level continuously increased from stages S2 to S4 during the enlargement of small bulblets.After VIGS-mediated silencing of LaPLT5,the diameter,circumference,and weight of small bulblets were highly significantly greater than those in the control group,whereas transient overexpression of LaPLT5 yielded opposite results.This indicated that LaPLT5 negatively regulated the enlargement of small bulblets in Lilium Tresor.Based on the phenotype of increased cell number but reduced cell area in small bulblets after LaPLT5 silencing,qRT-PCR analysis showed that the expression of cell wall relaxation-related genes,LaPME34,LaXTH1 and LaXTH6,was highly significantly downregulated.Meanwhile,the positive cell wall regulatory genes LaEBP1 and LaANT1 were highly significantly upregulated, whereas the negative regulatory gene LaCKX4 was highly significantly downregulated.These findings suggested that LaPLT5 likely regulated the expansion and division of small bulblet cells by coordinating the expression of genes involved in cell wall remodeling and cell division.In summary,LaPLT5 participates in the enlargement of small bulblets in Lilium Tresor and functions as a negative regulator of this process.

Key words: Lily, LaPLT5, Function analysis, Bulblet, Dilated

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Cite this article

LIU Zhongxu, AN Rui, CHU Hongtao, WANG Mengdi, CHEN Yanzhu, LI Xiaorui, PAN Wenqiang, CAO Li, DU Yunpeng. Functional Analysis of LaPLT5 in Bulblet Enlargement of Lilium[J]. Acta Agriculturae Boreali-Sinica, 2026, 41(4): 87-98. doi: 10.7668/hbnxb.20196709.

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