Abstract
Shoot branching is a highly variable trait that evolves during plant development and is influenced by environmental and endogenous cues such as hormones. In particular, strigolactones (SLs) are hormones that play a key role in the control of shoot branching. Branch primordia, axillary buds formed in the leaf axils, display differential growth depending on their position in the plant and also respond to hormone signaling. In this chapter, we will describe how to quantify the degree of shoot branching in two plant model species, Arabidopsis and pea, commonly used to decipher the control of this complex trait. We will also propose several methods to perform treatments of SL or SL analogs, to investigate their bioactivity and effect on the shoot branching patterns of plants of different genotypes.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsSpringer Nature is developing a new tool to find and evaluate Protocols. Learn more
References
Rameau C, Bertheloot J, Leduc N et al (2015) Multiple pathways regulate shoot branching. Front Plant Sci 5:1–15
Umehara M, Hanada A, Yoshida S et al (2008) Inhibition of shoot branching by new terpenoid plant hormones. Nature 455:195–200
Gomez-Roldan V, Fermas S, Brewer PB et al (2008) Strigolactone inhibition of shoot branching. Nature 455:189–194
Lee I, Amasino RM (1995) Effect of vernalization, photoperiod and light quality on the flowering phenotype of Arabidopsis plants containing the FRIGIDA gene. Plant Physiol 108:157–162
Beveridge CA, Dun EA, Rameau C (2009) Pea has its tendrils in branching discoveries spanning a century from auxin to strigolactones. Plant Physiol 151:985–990
Beveridge CA, Weller JL, Singer SR, Hofer JMI (2003) Axillary meristem development. Budding relationships between networks controlling flowering, branching, and photoperiod responsiveness. Plant Physiol 131:927–934
Foo E, Turnbull CGN, Beveridge CA (2001) Long-distance signaling and the control of branching in the rms1 mutant of pea. Plant Physiol 126:203–209
Turnbull CGN, Booker JP, Leyser HMO (2002) Micrografting techniques for testing long-distance signalling in Arabidopsis. Plant J 32:255–262
Beveridge C, Symons G, Murfet I (1997) The rms1 mutant of pea has elevated indole-3-acetic acid levels and reduced root-sap zeatin riboside content but increased branching controlled by graft-transmissible signals. Plant Physiol 115:1251–1258
Mouchel CF, Leyser O (2007) Novel phytohormones involved in long-range signaling. Curr Opin Plant Biol 10:473–476
Boyer F-D, de Saint Germain A, Pillot J-P et al (2012) Structure-activity relationship studies of strigolactone-related molecules for branching inhibition in garden pea: molecule design for shoot branching. Plant Physiol 159:1524–1544
Gonzalez-Grandio E, Pajoro A, Franco-Zorrilla JM et al (2017) Abscisic acid signaling is controlled by a BRANCHED1/HD-ZIP I cascade in Arabidopsis axillary buds. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 114:E245–E254
de Saint Germain A, Clavé G, Badet-Denisot M-A et al (2016) An histidine covalent receptor and butenolide complex mediates strigolactone perception. Nat Chem Biol 12:787–794
Méndez-Vigo B, De Andrés MT, Ramiro M et al (2010) Temporal analysis of natural variation for the rate of leaf production and its relationship with flowering initiation in Arabidopsis thaliana. J Exp Bot 61:1611–1623
Barbier FF, Dun EA, Kerr SC et al (2019) An update on the signals controlling shoot branching. Trends Plant Sci 24:220–236
Vidaurre DP, Ploense S, Krogan NT, Berleth T (2007) AMP1 and MP antagonistically regulate embryo and meristem development in Arabidopsis. Development 134:2561–2567
Dun EA, De Saint Germain A, Rameau C, Beveridge CA (2013) Dynamics of strigolactone function and shoot branching responses in Pisum sativum. Mol Plant 6:128–140
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2021 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature
About this protocol
Cite this protocol
Muñoz, A., Pillot, JP., Cubas, P., Rameau, C. (2021). Methods for Phenotyping Shoot Branching and Testing Strigolactone Bioactivity for Shoot Branching in Arabidopsis and Pea. In: Prandi, C., Cardinale, F. (eds) Strigolactones. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 2309. Humana, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-1429-7_10
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-1429-7_10
Published:
Publisher Name: Humana, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-0716-1428-0
Online ISBN: 978-1-0716-1429-7
eBook Packages: Springer Protocols