This study was led by Prof. Jianghua Chen from the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences. The authors identified four WOX1 homologs in soybean and uncovered their roles in leaf development. They found that GmWOX1a and GmWOX1b are specifically expressed at the initiation sites of leaf primordia and in the middle domain of leaf primordia.
Using CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing, they generated multiple knockout mutants and demonstrated the functional redundancy among four WOX1 genes. Triple mutants Gmwox1acd and Gmwox1bcd showed the significant narrow-leaf phenotype, with altered leaf shape and reduced leaf area. Histological analysis revealed the abnormality on vascular organization and mesophyll differentiation in these mutants. Furthermore, ectopic expression of GmWOX1a fully rescued the severe narrow-leaf defect of lam1 mutant in Nicotiana sylvestris.
This work provides some insights into the molecular mechanism of leaf width in soybean and offers a window for improving canopy architecture, with potential applications in high-density planting and yield optimization.
See the article:
GmWOX1 regulates the mediolateral polarity of compound leaves in soybean
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2662173825002188
