Natural variation in SSW1 coordinates seed growth and nitrogen use efficiency in Arabidopsis

Shan Jiang; Ximing Jin; Zebin Liu; Ran Xu; Congcong Hou; Fengxia Zhang; Chengming Fan; Huilan Wu; Tianyan Chen; Jianghua Shi; Zanmin Hu; Guodong Wang; Sheng Teng; Legong Li; Yunhai Li

doi:10.1016/j.celrep.2024.114150

Natural variation in SSW1 coordinates seed growth and nitrogen use efficiency in Arabidopsis

Cell Rep. 2024 Apr 27;43(5):114150. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2024.114150. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Shan Jiang¹, Ximing Jin¹, Zebin Liu², Ran Xu¹, Congcong Hou², Fengxia Zhang¹, Chengming Fan¹, Huilan Wu¹, Tianyan Chen³, Jianghua Shi⁴, Zanmin Hu¹, Guodong Wang⁵, Sheng Teng⁶, Legong Li², Yunhai Li⁷

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Seed Innovation, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
² College of Life Sciences, Capital Normal University, Beijing 100048, China.
³ Key Laboratory of Seed Innovation, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; College of Life Sciences, Yunnan University, Kunming 650500, China.
⁴ Institute of Crop and Nuclear Technology Utilization, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Science, Hangzhou 310021, China.
⁵ Key Laboratory of Seed Innovation, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; College of Advanced Agricultural Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100039, China.
⁶ Laboratory of Photosynthesis and Environmental Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China.
⁷ Key Laboratory of Seed Innovation, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; College of Advanced Agricultural Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100039, China. Electronic address: yhli@genetics.ac.cn.

PMID: 38678565
DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2024.114150

Abstract

Seed size is controlled not only by intrinsic genetic factors but also by external environmental signals. Here, we report a major quantitative trait locus (QTL) gene for seed size and weight on chromosome 1 (SSW1) in Arabidopsis, and we found SSW1 acts maternally to positively regulate seed size. Natural variation in SSW1 contains three types of alleles. The SSW1^Cvi allele produces larger seeds with more amino acid and storage protein contents than the SSW1^Ler allele. SSW1^Cvi displays higher capacity for amino acid transport than SSW1^Ler due to the differences in transport efficiency. Under low nitrogen supply, the SSW1^Cvi allele exhibits increased seed yield and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE). Locations of natural variation alleles of SSW1 are associated with local soil nitrogen contents, suggesting that SSW1 might contribute to geographical adaptation in Arabidopsis. Thus, our findings reveal a mechanism that coordinates seed growth and NUE, suggesting a potential target for improving seed yield and NUE in crops.

Keywords: Arabidopsis; CP: Plants; NUE; QTL; SSW1; amino acid permease 8; natural variation; nitrogen use efficiency; seed size.