Tree architecture: A strigolactone-deficient mutant reveals a connection between branching order and auxin gradient along the tree stem.

Abstract

Due to their long lifespan, trees and bushes develop higher order of branches in a perennial manner. In contrast to a tall tree, with a clearly defined main stem and branching order, a bush is shorter and has a less apparent main stem and branching pattern. To address the developmental basis of these two forms, we studied several naturally occurring architectural variants in silver birch (<i>Betula pendula</i>). Using a candidate gene approach, we identified a bushy <i>kanttarelli</i> variant with a loss-of-function mutation in the <i>BpMAX1</i> gene required for strigolactone (SL) biosynthesis. While <i>kanttarelli</i> is shorter than the wild type (WT), it has the same number of primary branches, whereas the number of secondary branches is increased, contributing to its bush-like phenotype. To confirm that the identified mutation was responsible for the phenotype, we phenocopied <i>kanttarelli</i> in transgenic <i>BpMAX1::RNAi</i> birch lines. SL profiling confirmed that both <i>kanttarelli</i> and the transgenic lines produced very limited amounts of SL. Interestingly, the auxin (IAA) distribution along the main stem differed between WT and <i>BpMAX1::RNAi</i>. In the WT, the auxin concentration formed a gradient, being higher in the uppermost internodes and decreasing toward the basal part of the stem, whereas in the transgenic line, this gradient was not observed. Through modeling, we showed that the different IAA distribution patterns may result from the difference in the number of higher-order branches and plant height. Future studies will determine whether the IAA gradient itself regulates aspects of plant architecture.