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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Raleigh, North Carolina » Plant Science Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #369928
Research Project: Strategies to Support Resilient Agricultural Systems of the Southeastern U.S.

Location: Plant Science Research

Title: Transformation of long-lived albino epipremnum aureum ‘golden pothos’ and restoring chloroplast development

Author
item HUNG, CHIU-YUEH - North Carolina Central University
item ZHANG, JIANHUI - North Carolina Central University
item BHATTACHARYA, CHAYANIKA - North Carolina Central University
item LI, HUA - North Carolina Central University
item KITTUR, FAROOQAHMED - North Carolina Central University
item OLDHAM, CARLA - North Carolina Central University
item WEI, XIANGYING - Minjiang University
item Burkey, Kent
item CHEN, JIANJUN - University Of Florida
item XIE, JIAHUA - North Carolina Central University

Submitted to: Frontiers in Plant Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/19/2021
Publication Date: 5/12/2021
Citation: Hung, C., Zhang, J., Bhattacharya, C., Li, H., Kittur, F., Oldham, C., Wei, X., Burkey, K.O., Chen, J., Xie, J. 2021. Transformation of long-lived albino epipremnum aureum ‘golden pothos’ and restoring chloroplast development. Frontiers in Plant Science. 12:647507. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2021.647507.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2021.647507

Interpretive Summary: Photosynthesis in higher plants occurs in special organelles called chloroplasts present in cells of leaves and other green tissues. Formation of chloroplasts requires the expression of genes from both the cell nucleus and the organelle itself. Studies of this complex process are greatly limited by available experimental systems. In this study, a tissue culture approach was used to generate albino plants that can be induced to form functional chloroplasts. This system will allow for testing the role of individual genes in chloroplast development and help lay the groundwork for future research on manipulating chloroplasts to facilitate the manufacture of biopharmaceuticals.

Technical Abstract: We created ‘long-lived’ albino plants from Epipremnum aureum by tissue culture and established an efficient transformation system. We also demonstrated that their defective color and dysfunctional chloroplast development could be restored by overexpressing Arabidopsis CHL27, a homolog of EaZIP whose impaired expression is responsible for albino phenotype. These ‘long-lived’ albino plants retain the capacity to develop normal chloroplasts, and thus could be utilized for chloroplast biogenesis and associated biological studies.