image: Transformed: Primrose the plant that so fascinated Charles Darwin. view more
Credit: John Innes Historical Collection
Researchers have genetically transformed the Common Primrose (Primula vulgaris) for the first time in a development that could shed light on one of the plant world's most renowned reproductive systems.
The complicated sex life of Primula was a subject that fascinated Charles Darwin and generations of geneticists that followed because it's one of the best examples of heteromorphic flower development.
Heteromorphy (or heterostyly) is a phenomenon in which plants exhibit two or three distinct forms of flowers based on the position of the male and female sex organs. Now, some of the secrets that eluded Darwin could be revealed following the biotechnological success announced by researchers from the John Innes Centre, the University of East Anglia (UEA) and the Earlham Institute.
The technology known as Agrobacterium-mediated plant transformation involves using soil bacteria to insert or modify genes in a plant genome. Genetic transformation is a valuable tool that allows researchers to study gene function and genetically controlled characteristics in organisms.
It is a research method routinely used on model organisms such as Nicotiana benthamiana and Arabidopsis thaliana to understand the molecular workings of plants. However, these species cannot be used to study heteromorphy because their flowers are all homomorphic which means they are able to self-fertilise.
"Now we have a transformation system we can use gene editing tools such as CRISPR-Cas9 to work out exactly what the gene function is that controls heteromorphy in the Primula family," says Sadiye Hayta, of the John Innes Centre.
"Longer term, there may be implications for commercial crops. If we understand the roles of these different genes we could take them over to a commercial crop and use it in a hybrid system," she adds.
Until now attempts to transform Primula have been unsuccessful because the plant has proved resistant to laboratory regeneration of whole plants from tissue culture.
The new transformation protocols reported in the peer-reviewed journal Plant Methods will allow the scientists of today to study the Primula at a molecular level.
The flowering plant is one of the best-known examples of heteromorphic flower development. This reproductive system enthralled not only Darwin but many leading geneticists from the early 1900s including William Bateson, the first director of the John Innes Centre and colleagues JBS Haldane, Cyril Darlington and Dorothea de Winton.
Darwin, in a landmark paper of 1862, worked out the functional significance of the different anatomical formations: they made the plants self-incompatible. This is Nature's way of promoting cross-pollination to maintain genetic variation in the population, driving natural selection.
Fundamental research into heteromorphy has continued. In a research paper in 2016 a John Innes Centre - University of East Anglia team led by Professor Philip Gilmartin identified the S-Locus supergene that controls heteromorphy as described by Darwin.
Armed with this fundamental knowledge and a the newly announced transformation system, scientists can delve deeper into the mysteries of heteromorphy.
Co-author Mark Smedley, of the John Innes Centre says: "It is not every day you get to work on a paper that references Darwin. This is a fundamental story that scientists have been trying to unravel for 200 years."
Professor Philip Gilmartin of the UEA whose laboratory started out on this scientific mission more than 20 years ago, said: "The development of a Primula transformation system is an important component of our lab's long-term study to identify and characterise the genes that control development of the two forms of Primula flower studied by Charles Darwin."
It's a piece of research that would have excited Darwin. Towards the end of his illustrious career the author of On the Origin of Species remarked:
"I do not think anything in my scientific life has given me so much satisfaction as making out the meaning of the structure of these plants."
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The paper: Agrobacterium-mediated transformation systems of Primula vulgaris, appears in the peer reviewed journal Plant Methods. The research was funded by BBSRC and the Gatsby Foundation.
Pictures/Media and captions:
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Notes for Editors
Contacts
Press Contact: Adrian Galvin - Adrian.Galvin@jic.ac.uk
Tel: 01603 450238
About the John Innes Centre
The John Innes Centre is an independent, international centre of excellence in plant science and microbiology.
Our mission is to generate knowledge of plants and microbes through innovative research, to train scientists for the future, to apply our knowledge of nature's diversity to benefit agriculture, the environment, human health, and wellbeing, and engage with policy makers and the public.
To achieve these goals we establish pioneering long-term research objectives in plant and microbial science, with a focus on genetics. These objectives include promoting the translation of research through partnerships to develop improved crops and to make new products from microbes and plants for human health and other applications. We also create new approaches, technologies and resources that enable research advances and help industry to make new products. The knowledge, resources and trained researchers we generate help global societies address important challenges including providing sufficient and affordable food, making new products for human health and industrial applications, and developing sustainable bio-based manufacturing.
This provides a fertile environment for training the next generation of plant and microbial scientists, many of whom go on to careers in industry and academia, around the world.
The John Innes Centre is strategically funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), and is supported by the John Innes Foundation through provision of research accommodation, capital funding and long-term support of the Rotation PhD programme.
For more information about the John Innes Centre visit our website http://www.jic.ac.uk
About the University of East Anglia
The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a UK Top 15 university. Known for its world-leading research and outstanding student experience, it was awarded Gold in the Teaching Excellence Framework and has achieved a Top 5 ranking for overall satisfaction in the National Student Survey every year since the survey began in 2005. UEA is a leading member of Norwich Research Park, one of Europe's biggest concentrations of researchers in the fields of environment, health and plant science. http://www.uea.ac.uk
About Earlham Institute
The Earlham Institute (EI) is a world-leading research Institute focusing on the development of genomics and computational biology. EI is based within the Norwich Research Park and is one of eight institutes that receive strategic funding from Biotechnology and Biological Science Research Council (BBSRC) - £5.43m in 2017/18 - as well as support from other research funders. - as well as support from other research funders. EI operates a National Capability to promote the application of genomics and bioinformatics to advance bioscience research and innovation.
EI offers a state of the art DNA sequencing facility, unique by its operation of multiple complementary technologies for data generation. The Institute is a UK hub for innovative bioinformatics through research, analysis and interpretation of multiple, complex data sets. It hosts one of the largest computing hardware facilities dedicated to life science research in Europe. It is also actively involved in developing novel platforms to provide access to computational tools and processing capacity for multiple academic and industrial users and promoting applications of computational Bioscience. Additionally, the Institute offers a training programme through courses and workshops, and an outreach programme targeting key stakeholders, and wider public audiences through dialogue and science communication activities.
@Earlham
About BBSRC
The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) is part of UK Research and Innovation, a non-departmental public body funded by a grant-in-aid from the UK government.
BBSRC invests in world-class bioscience research and training on behalf of the UK public. Our aim is to further scientific knowledge, to promote economic growth, wealth and job creation and to improve quality of life in the UK and beyond.
Funded by government, BBSRC invested £469 million in world-class bioscience in 2016-17. We support research and training in universities and strategically funded institutes. BBSRC research and the people we fund are helping society to meet major challenges, including food security, green energy and healthier, longer lives. Our investments underpin important UK economic sectors, such as farming, food, industrial biotechnology and pharmaceuticals
For more information about BBSRC, our science and our impact, and for more information about BBSRC strategically funded institutes visit our website.
Journal
Plant Methods