# Functional Verification of the Soybean Pseudo-Response Factor GmPRR7b and Regulation of Its Rhythmic Expression

## TL;DR

This study explores how the soybean gene GmPRR7b influences flowering time and circadian rhythms through overexpression and gene editing.

## Contribution

The novel contribution is the functional verification of GmPRR7b's role in flowering and its rhythmic regulation in soybean.

## Key findings

- GmPRR7b overexpression delays flowering in soybean plants.
- Gene-edited GmPRR7b plants flowered earlier than wild-type controls.
- GmPRR7b interacts with GmPRR5/9a and GmPRR5/9b, suggesting a regulatory network affecting flowering.

## Abstract

The pseudo response regulator (PRR) gene is an important component of the core oscillator involved in plant circadian rhythms and plays an important role in regulating plant growth and development and stress responses. In this study, we investigated the function of GmPRR7b by overexpression and gene editing approaches. It was found that GmPRR7b plays a role in delaying flowering. While GmPRR7b overexpressing plants showed significantly delayed flowering compared to untransformed WT, GmPRR7b edited plants flowered earlier than the control WT. On the basis of previous research results and bioinformatics analysis, we re-identified 14 soybean PRR genes and analysed their rhythmic expression. Based on the rhythmic expression pattern, we found that GmPRR5/9a and GmPRR5/9b interacted with GmPRR7b by yeast two-hybrid and bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) experiments. Combined with the expression regulatory networks of the GmPRR7b, we inferred a possible regulatory mechanism by which GmPRR7b affects flowering through quit rhythm expression. These research elements provide valuable references for understanding growth, development, and circadian regulation in soybean.