The role of an expansin gene (IbEXP1) in the formation of the storage root (SR) was investigated by expression pattern analysis and characterization of IbEXP1-antisense sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas cv. Yulmi) plants in an attempt to elucidate the molecular mechanism underlying SR development in sweetpotato. The transcript level of IbEXP1 was high in the fibrous root (FR) and petiole at the FR stage, but decreased significantly at the young storage root (YSR) stage. IbEXP1-antisense plants cultured in vitro produced FRs which were both thicker and shorter than those of wild-type (WT) plants. Elongation growth of the epidermal cells was significantly reduced, and metaxylem and cambium cell proliferation was markedly enhanced in the FRs of IbEXP1-antisense plants, resulting in an earlier thickening growth in these plants relative to WT plants. There was a marked reduction in the lignification of the central stele of the FRs of the IbEXP1-antisense plants, suggesting that the FRs of the mutant plants possessed a higher potential than those of WT plants to develop into SRs. IbEXP1-antisense plants cultured in soil produced a larger number of SRs and, consequently, total SR weight per IbEXP1-antisense plant was greater than that per WT plant. These results demonstrate that SR development was accelerated in IbEXP1-antisense plants and suggest that IbEXP1 plays a negative role in the formation of SR by suppressing the proliferation of metaxylem and cambium cells to inhibit the initial thickening growth of SRs. IbEXP1 is the first sweetpotato gene whose role in SR development has been directly identified in soil-grown transgenic sweetpotato plants.

Results of transcriptome analyses suggest that expansin genes play an active role in seed development and yield, but gain- or loss-of-function studies have not yet elucidated the functional role(s) of the expansin gene(s) in these processes. We have overexpressed a sweetpotato expansin gene (IbEXP1) in Arabidopsis under the control of cauliflower mosaic 35S promoter in an attempt to determine the effect of the expansin gene in seed development and yield in heterologous plants. The growth rate was enhanced in IbEXP1-overexpressing (ox) plants relative to wild-type Col-0 plants during early vegetative growth stage. At the reproductive stage, the number of rosette leaves was higher in IbEXP1-ox plants than that in Col-0 plants, and siliques were thicker. IbEXP1-ox plants produced larger seeds, accumulated more protein and starch in each seed, and produced more inflorescence stems and siliques than Col-0 plants, leading to a 2.1-2.5-fold increase in total seed yield per plant. The transcript level of IbEXP1 was up-regulated in response to brassinosteroid (BR) treatment in sweetpotato, and the transcript levels of three BR-responsive genes, fatty acid elongase 3-ketoacyl-CoA synthase 1, HAIKU1 and MINISEED3, were also increased in IbEXP1-ox Arabidopsis plants, suggesting a possible involvement of IbEXP1 in at least one of the BR signaling pathways. Based on these results, we suggest that overexpression of IbEXP1 gene in heterologous plants is effective in increasing seed size and number and, consequently, seed yield.