Study of the Function and Expression of the AhRUVBL2 Promoter in Arabidopsis.

Background: Cultivated peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) is a major oil and economic crop. Pod size is one of the important agronomic traits of peanut variety, with a direct impact on peanut yield.

Methods: In a previous study, AhRUVBL2 was identified by map-based cloning technology as a candidate gene that regulates peanut pod size.

Results: Overexpression of AhRUVBL2 in transgenic Arabidopsis significantly increased plant height, branch number, leaf size, silique size, seed size, and thousand-seed weight. Further examination revealed an increase in the area of silique exocarp cells, and the number and area of endocarp lignified cells. A total of 337 differentially expressed genes, including PRX (Periaxin) , SAUR (Small Auxin-up RNA), and PYL (Pyrabactin Resistance 1-like), were identified by transcriptome analysis of transgenic Arabidopsis silique. proAhRUVBL2-GUS was found to be expressed explicitly in seeds, and the expression activity of proAhRUVBL2-D893 was significantly greater than that of proAhRUVBL2-79266. Exogenous ABA (abscisic acid) and IAA (indole acetic acid) treatment of proAhRUVBL2-GUS-transformed tobacco leaves revealed that the AhRUVBL2 promoter was hormone-responsive.

Conclusions: This study sheds light on the function of AhRUVBL2 in regulating plant growth and development. Moreover, characterization of the AhRUVBL2 promoter provides a valuable genetic resource for enhancing peanut yield.