GIGANTEA gene expression influence leaf senescence in Populus in two different ways

GIGANTEA (GI) genes have a central role in plant development and influence several processes such as light signaling, circadian rhythm and abiotic stress tolerance. Hybrid aspen T89 ( Populus tremula x tremuloides ) trees with low GI expression through RNAi have a severely compromised growth. In order to study the effect of reduced GI expression on leaf traits with special emphasis on leaf senescence, we grafted GI-RNAi scions onto wild type (WT) rootstocks and managed to restore scions’ growth. The RNAi line had distorted leaf shape and reduced photosynthesis, probably caused by modulating phloem or stomatal function, increased starch accumulation, higher carbon-to-nitrogen (C/N) ratio and a reduced capacity to withstand moderate light stress. GI-RNAi also induced senescence under long day (LD) and moderate light conditions. Furthermore, the GI-RNAi lines were affected in their capacity to respond to “autumn environmental cues” inducing senescence, a type of leaf senescence with characteristics different from senescence induced directly by stress under LD conditions. Whereas Overexpression of GI delayed senescence. The two different effects on leaf senescence were not affected by the expression of FT (Flowering locus T), were “local” – they followed the genotype of the branch independent on the position in the tree – and trees with modified gene expression grown in the field were affected in a similar way as under controlled conditions. Taken together, GI plays a central role to sense the environmental changes during autumn and determine the appropriate timing for leaf senescence in Populus . One sentence summary Leaf senescence is a complex process that is not well understood, but this paper shows that changing the expression of one gene could influence leaf senescence in Populus trees in two separate ways.