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Plant and Cell Physiology Advance Access published online on April 23, 2009
Plant and Cell Physiology, doi:10.1093/pcp/pcp061
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© The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Japanese Society of Plant Physiologists. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Molecular mechanism of seed coat discoloration induced by low temperature in yellow soybean

Atsushi Kasai1,5, Shizen Ohnishi2,5, Hiroyuki Yamazaki2, Hideyuki Funatsuki3, Tasuku Kurauchi1, Takuro Matsumoto1, Setsuzo Yumoto2,4 and Mineo Senda1,*

1Faculty of Agriculture and Life Science, Hirosaki University, Hirosaki, 036-8561, Japan
2Tokachi Agricultural Experiment Station, S9-2, Shinsei, Memuro-cho, Kasai-gun, Hokkaido 082-0071, Japan
3National Agricultural Research Center for Hokkaido Region, Hitsujigaoka, Sapporo 062-8555, Japan

*Corresponding author: Dr. Mineo Senda, Faculty of Agriculture and Life Science, Hirosaki University, Hirosaki, 036-8561, Japan, Tel +81-172-39-3785; Fax +81-172-39-3757; E-mail, senda{at}cc.hirosaki-u.ac.jp


  Abstract

Seed coat pigmentation is inhibited in yellow soybean. The I gene inhibits pigmentation over the entire seed coat. In yellow soybean, seed coat discoloration occurs when plants are exposed to low temperatures after the onset of flowering, a phenomenon named "cold-induced discoloration (CD)." Inhibition of seed coat pigmentation results from post-transcriptional gene silencing (PTGS) of the chalcone synthase (CHS) genes. PTGS is a sequence-specific RNA degradation mechanism in plants and occurs via short interfering RNAs (siRNAs). Similar post-transcriptional suppression is called RNAi (RNA interference) in animals. Recently, we identified a candidate of the I gene designated GmIRCHS. In this study, to elucidate the molecular mechanism of CD, CHS mRNA and siRNA levels in the seed coat were compared between CD-sensitive and CD-tolerant cultivars (Toyomusume and Toyoharuka, respectively). In Toyomusume, CHS siRNA level was reduced markedly by low temperature treatment, and subsequently CHS mRNA level increased rapidly after treatment. In contrast, low temperature treatment did not result in severe reduction of CHS siRNA level in Toyoharuka, and the CHS mRNA level did not increase after the treatment. These results suggest that the rapid increase in CHS mRNA level after low temperature treatment may lead to enhanced pigmentation in some of the seed coat cells and finally in seed coat discoloration. Interestingly, we found a Toyoharuka-specific difference in the GmIRCHS region, which may be involved in CD tolerance.

Keywords: CHS genes - Low temperature - PTGS - Seed coat discoloration - Tolerance - Yellow soybean

4Present address: National Agricultural Research Center for Tohoku Region, Kariwano, Daisen 019-2112, Japan

5These authors contributed equally to this work.

(Received March 25, 2009; Accepted April 21, 2009)
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