The boron transporter BnaC4.BOR1;1c is critical for inflorescence development and fertility under boron limitation in Brassica napus

Boron (B) is an essential micronutrient for plants, but the molecular mechanisms underlying the uptake and distribution of B in allotetraploid rapeseed (Brassica napus) are unclear. Here, we identified a B transporter of rapeseed, BnaC4.BOR1;1c, which is expressed in shoot nodes and involved in distributing B to the reproductive organs. Transgenic Arabidopsis plants containing a BnaC4.BOR1;1c promoter‐driven GUS reporter gene showed strong GUS activity in roots, nodal regions of the shoots and immature floral buds. Overexpressing BnaC4.BOR1;1c in Arabidopsis wild type or in bor1‐1 mutants promoted wild‐type growth and rescued the bor1‐1 mutant phenotype. Conversely, knockdown of BnaC4.BOR1;1c in a B‐efficient rapeseed line reduced B accumulation in flower organs, eventually resulting in severe sterility and seed yield loss. BnaC4.BOR1;1c RNAi plants exhibited large amounts of disintegrated stigma papilla cells with thickened cell walls accompanied by abnormal proliferation of lignification under low‐B conditions, indicating that the sterility may be a result of altered cell wall properties in flower organs. Taken together, our results demonstrate that BnaC4.BOR1;1c is a AtBOR1‐homologous B transporter gene expressing in both roots and shoot nodes that is essential for the developing inflorescence tissues, which highlights its diverse functions in allotetraploid rapeseed compared with diploid model plant Arabidopsis. BnaC4.BOR1;1c, a rapeseed boron transporter homologous to Arabidopsis BOR1, expresses not only in roots but also in shoot nodes and floral buds. Overexpressing BnaC4.BOR1;1c in Arabidopsis bor1 mutant rescued the mutant phenotype under a B limitation condition. Knockdown of BnaC4.BOR1;1c in the rapeseed line reduced the transport of B from root to shoot and the distribution of B to flower organs, eventually resulting in severe sterility and seed yield loss. These results demonstrate that BnaC4.BOR1;1c is essential for inflorescence development by preferentially facilitating boron transport to the growing reproductive tissues, which highlights its diverse functions in allotetraploid rapeseed compared with diploid Arabidopsis.