2026年9月17日，南京农业大学农学院黄方等在《遗传学报》（Journal of Genetics and Genomics）发表研究，发现野生大豆MADS-box基因GsAGL62通过增强细胞分裂素信号和细胞增殖提高种子重量。

大豆种子重量是关键的产量决定因素，但连接激素信号与种子生长的转录机制仍知之甚少。在此，研究人员鉴定出GsAGL62，一个位于先前定位的百粒重（HSW）位点和驯化相关选择性清除区域内的野生大豆MADS-box转录因子。功能分析表明，在栽培大豆中过表达GsAGL62可显著提高百粒重，而甲基磺酸乙酯（EMS）诱导的gmagl62突变体则降低百粒重。整合的转录组和代谢组分析揭示，GsAGL62增强细胞分裂素积累和细胞分裂素相关信号响应，并伴随参与细胞增殖的基因表达增加。机制上，GsAGL62直接结合保守生长抑制因子GmATPK2的启动子并抑制其转录。与此一致，独立的EMS诱导gmatpk2突变体表现出种子重量增加，支持GmATPK2作为种子生长的下游负调控因子。群体遗传分析进一步揭示，GsAGL62启动子单倍型在大豆驯化和改良过程中存在强烈分化。这些单倍型表现出不同的启动子活性，并与不同的农艺表现相关，表明GsAGL62的顺式调控变异促成了其在大豆改良过程中的选择。总之，研究人员的发现建立了一个将GsAGL62与细胞分裂素相关响应、细胞增殖和种子生长联系起来的调控模块，并凸显GsAGL62作为大豆产量改良的潜在靶点。

附：英文原文

Title: A wild soybean MADS-box gene GsAGL62 improves seed weight by enhancing cytokinin signaling and cell proliferation

Author: anonymous

Issue&Volume: 2026/09/17

Abstract: Soybean seed weight is a key yield determinant, but the transcriptional mechanisms connecting hormone signaling to seed growth are poorly understood. Here, we identify GsAGL62, a wild soybean MADS-box transcription factor located within a previously mapped hundred-seed weight (HSW) locus and a domestication-associated selective sweep. Functional analyses show that overexpression of GsAGL62 in cultivated soybean significantly increases HSW, whereas ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS)-induced gmagl62 mutants reduce it. Integrated transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses reveal that GsAGL62 enhances cytokinin accumulation and signaling cytokinin-associated responses, accompanied by increased expression of genes involved in cell proliferation. Mechanistically, GsAGL62 directly binds to the promoter of the conserved growth inhibitor GmATPK2 and represses its transcription. Consistently, independent EMS-induced gmatpk2 mutants exhibit increased seed weight, supporting GmATPK2 as a downstream negative regulator of seed growth. Population genetic analyses further reveal strong differentiation of GsAGL62 promoter haplotypes during soybean domestication and improvement. These haplotypes show differential promoter activities and are associated with distinct agronomic performance, suggesting that cis-regulatory variation at GsAGL62 contributes to its selection during soybean improvement. Collectively, our findings establish a regulatory module linking GsAGL62 to cytokinin-associated responses, cell proliferation, and seed growth, and highlight GsAGL62 as a potential target for soybean yield improvement.

DOI: 10.1016/j.jgg.2026.09.005

Source:https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S167385272600281X