A single nucleotide mutation in GID1c disrupts its interaction with DELLA1 and causes a GA-insensitive dwarf phenotype in peach

Plant stature is one important factor that affects the productivity of peach orchards. However, little is known about the molecular mechanism(s) underlying the dwarf phenotype of peach tree. Here, we report a dwarfing mechanism in the peach cv. FenHuaShouXingTao (FHSXT). The dwarf phenotype of 'FHSXT' was caused by shorter cell length compared to the standard cv. QiuMiHong (QMH). 'FHSXT' contained higher endogenous GA levels than did 'QMH' and did not response to exogenous GA treatment (internode elongation). These results indicated that 'FHSXT' is a GA-insensitive dwarf mutant. A dwarf phenotype-related single nucleotide mutation in the gibberellic acid receptor GID1 was identified in 'FHSXT' (GID1c(S191F)), which was also cosegregated with dwarf phenotype in 30 tested cultivars. GID1c(S191F) was unable to interact with the growth-repressor DELLA1 even in the presence of GA. 'FHSXT' accumulated a higher level of DELLA1, the degradation of which is normally induced by its interaction with GID1. The DELLA1 protein level was almost undetectable in 'QMH', but not reduced in 'FHSXT' after GA(3) treatment. Our results suggested that a nonsynonymous single nucleotide mutation in GID1c disrupts its interaction with DELLA1 resulting in a GA-insensitive dwarf phenotype in peach.