The Novel Cucurbitaceae miRNA ClmiR86 Is Involved in Grafting-Enhanced Phosphate Utilization and Phosphate Starvation Tolerance in Watermelon

Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) is a globally important Cucurbitaceae crop in which grafting is commonly used to improve stress tolerance and enhance nutrient utilization. However, the mechanism underlying grafting-enhanced nutrient assimilation remains unclear. Here, we demonstrate the possible invo...

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Published inPlants (Basel) Vol. 10; no. 10; p. 2133
Main Authors Wu, Weifang, Zhao, Haoshun, Deng, Qin, Yang, Haiyang, Guan, Xiaoxiao, Qi, Rui, Shi, Pibiao, Yang, Jinghua, Zhang, Mingfang, Hu, Zhongyuan
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Basel MDPI AG 08.10.2021
MDPI
Subjects
Abscisic acid
Assimilation
Calcineurin
Citrullus lanatus
Cucurbitaceae
Elongation
Fruits
Gene expression
Genotype & phenotype
Genotypes
Grafting
Immunological tolerance
Kinases
miRNA
Nutrient uptake
Nutrient utilization
Phosphate
phosphate starvation response
phosphate utilization
Phosphates
Potassium
Protein kinase
Salinity
Starvation
Transcription
Transgenic plants
Utilization
Water melons
watermelon
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Summary:Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) is a globally important Cucurbitaceae crop in which grafting is commonly used to improve stress tolerance and enhance nutrient utilization. However, the mechanism underlying grafting-enhanced nutrient assimilation remains unclear. Here, we demonstrate the possible involvement of a novel Cucurbitaceae miRNA, ClmiR86, in grafting-enhanced phosphate-starvation tolerance via CALCINEURIN B-LIKE INTERACTING PROTEIN KINASE 5 (ClCIPK5) suppression in watermelon. Transcript analyses revealed that the induction of ClmiR86 expression was correlated with the downregulation of ClCIPK5 in squash-grafted watermelon under phosphate starvation. In addition, the differential expression of ClmiR86 in various watermelon genotypes was consistent with their phosphate utilization efficiency. Furthermore, ClmiR86 overexpression in Arabidopsis enhanced root growth and phosphate uptake under phosphate starvation and promoted inflorescence elongation under normal conditions. These results suggest that the ClmiR86–ClCIPK5 axis is involved in phosphate starvation response as well as grafting-enhanced growth vigor and phosphate assimilation. The present study provides valuable insights for investigating long-distance signaling and nutrient utilization in plants.
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These authors have contributed equally to this work and share first authorship.
ISSN:2223-7747
2223-7747
DOI:10.3390/plants10102133