SummaryReproductive organs in seed plants are morphologically divergent and their evolutionary history is often unclear. The mechanisms controlling their development have been extensively studied in angiosperms but are poorly understood in conifers and other gymnosperms. Here, we address the molecular control of seed cone development in Norway spruce, Picea abies.We present expression analyses of five novel MADS-box genes in comparison with previously identified MADS and LEAFY genes at distinct developmental stages. In addition, we have characterized the homeotic transformation from vegetative shoot to female cone and associated changes in regulatory gene expression patterns occurring in the acrocona mutant.The analyses identified genes active at the onset of ovuliferous and ovule development and identified expression patterns marking distinct domains of the ovuliferous scale. The reproductive transformation in acrocona involves the activation of all tested genes normally active in early cone development, except for an AGAMOUS-LIKE6/SEPALLATA (AGL6/SEP) homologue. This absence may be functionally associated with the nondeterminate development of the acrocona ovule-bearing scales.Our morphological and gene expression analyses give support to the hypothesis that the modern cone is a complex structure, and the ovuliferous scale the result of reductions and compactions of an ovule-bearing axillary short shoot in cones of Paleozoic conifers.

Plant vascular tissues, xylem and phloem, differentiate in distinct patterns from procambial cells as an integral transport system for water, sugars, and signaling molecules. Procambium formation is promoted by high auxin levels activating class III homeodomain leucine zipper (HD-ZIP III) transcription factors (TFs). In the root of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), HD-ZIP III TFs dose-dependently govern the patterning of the xylem axis, with higher levels promoting metaxylem cell identity in the central axis and lower levels promoting protoxylem at its flanks. It is unclear, however, by what mechanisms the HD-ZIP III TFs control xylem axis patterning. Here, we present data suggesting that an important mechanism is their ability to moderate the auxin response. We found that changes in HD-ZIP III TF levels affect the expression of genes encoding core auxin response molecules. We show that one of the HD-ZIP III TFs, PHABULOSA, directly binds the promoter of both MONOPTEROS (MP)/AUXIN RESPONSE FACTOR5, a key factor in vascular formation, and IAA20, encoding an auxin/indole acetic acid protein that is stable in the presence of auxin and able to interact with and repress MP activity. The double mutant of IAA20 and its closest homolog IAA30 forms ectopic protoxylem, while overexpression of IAA30 causes discontinuous protoxylem and occasional ectopic metaxylem, similar to a weak loss-of-function mp mutant. Our results provide evidence that HD-ZIP III TFs directly affect the auxin response and mediate a feed-forward loop formed by MP and IAA20 that may focus and stabilize the auxin response during vascular patterning and the differentiation of xylem cell types.

Somatic embryogenesis is used for vegetative propagation of conifers. Embryogenic cultures can be established from zygotic embryos; however, the embryogenic potential decreases during germination. In Arabidopsis, LEAFY COTYLEDON (LEC) genes are expressed during the embryonic stage, and must be repressed to allow germination. Treatment with the histone deacetylase inhibitor trichostatin A (TSA) causes de-repression of LEC genes. ABSCISICACID3 (ABI3) and its Zeamays ortholog VIVIPAROUS1 (VP1) act together with the LEC genes to promote embryo maturation. In this study, we have asked the question whether TSA treatment in a conifer affects the embryogenic potential and the expression of embryogenesis-related genes. We isolated two conifer LEC1-type HAP3 genes, HAP3A and HAP3B, from Picea abies and Pinus sylvestris. A comparative phylogenetic analysis of plant HAP3 genes suggests that HAP3A and HAP3B are paralogous genes originating from a duplication event in the conifer lineage. The expression of HAP3A is high, in both somatic and zygotic embryos, during early embryo development, but decreases during late embryogeny. In contrast, the expression of VP1 is initially low but increases during late embryogeny. After exposure to TSA, germinating somatic embryos of P. abies maintain the competence to differentiate embryogenic tissue, and simultaneously the germination progression is partially inhibited. Furthermore, when embryogenic cultures of P. abies are exposed to TSA during embryo maturation, the maturation process is arrested and the expression levels of PaHAP3A and PaVP1 are maintained, suggesting a possible link between chromatin structure and expression of embryogenesis-related genes in conifers.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00425-011-1418-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Conifers normally go through a long juvenile period, for Norway spruce (Picea abies) around 20 to 25 years, before developing male and female cones. We have grown plants from inbred crosses of a naturally occurring spruce mutant (acrocona). One-fourth of the segregating acrocona plants initiate cones already in their second growth cycle, suggesting control by a single locus. The early cone-setting properties of the acrocona mutant were utilized to identify candidate genes involved in vegetative-toreproductive phase change in Norway spruce. Poly(A + ) RNA samples from apical and basal shoots of cone-setting and noncone-setting plants were subjected to high-throughput sequencing (RNA-seq). We assembled and investigated 33,383 expressed putative protein-coding acrocona transcripts. Eight transcripts were differentially expressed between selected sample pairs. One of these (Acr42124_1) was significantly up-regulated in apical shoot samples from cone-setting acrocona plants, and the encoded protein belongs to the MADS box gene family of transcription factors. Using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction with independently derived plant material, we confirmed that the MADS box gene is up-regulated in both needles and buds of cone-inducing shoots when reproductive identity is determined. Our results constitute important steps for the development of a rapid cycling model system that can be used to study gene function in conifers. In addition, our data suggest the involvement of a MADS box transcription factor in the vegetative-to-reproductive phase change in Norway spruce.The two most commonly grown and economically important conifers in Sweden, Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) and Norway spruce (Picea abies), both go through a long vegetative growth phase before they begin to produce cones; the vegetative growth period is 20 to 25 years and 8 to 20 years for Norway spruce and Scots pine, respectively. Mature Scots pine trees produce cones every year, while mature Norway spruce trees produce cones only every 3rd to 5th year. The timing of cone establishment is largely synchronized within the various spruce populations and is determined by a combination of genetic and environmental factors (Lindgren et al., 1977;Högberg and Eriksson, 1994). The long generation time and the irregular cone setting between different years pose major obstacles for breeding of Norway spruce both with respect to genetic gain and retained diversity. To guarantee a sufficient seed supply, forest companies have to plant and maintain large seed orchards and in addition store large quantities of seeds to cover the demand during years of little or no seed production. Both conifer breeding programs and the production of improved seed for forest regeneration would benefit from methods to control the length of the vegetative period before the trees start to produce cones as well as the possibilities to control cone setting and cone production itself. Despite that, our knowledge of the genetic mechanisms that regulate the transition from vegetati...

The aim of this study has been to identify important processes that regulate early stages of embryo development in conifers. Somatic embryogenesis in Picea abies has become a model system for studying embryology in conifers, providing a well-characterized sequence of developmental stages, resembling zygotic embryogeny, which can be synchronized by specific treatments, making it possible to collect a large number of somatic embryos at specific developmental stages. We have used this model to analyze global changes in gene expression during early stages of embryo development by generating an expression profile of 12,536 complementary DNA clones. This has allowed us to identify molecular events regulating putative processes associated with pattern formation during the earliest stages of embryogenesis which have not been identified on the molecular level in conifers before. We recognize notable changes in the expression of genes involved in regulating auxin biosynthesis and auxin response, gibberellin-mediated signaling, signaling between the embryo and the female gametophyte, tissue specification including the formation of boundary regions, and the switch from embryonic to vegetative development. In addition, our results confirm the involvement of previously described processes, including stress, differentiation of a protoderm, and programmed cell death.

Conifers, Ginkgo, cycads and gnetophytes comprise the four groups of extant gymnosperms holding a unique position of sharing common ancestry with the angiosperms. Comparative studies of gymnosperms and angiosperms are the key to a better understanding of ancient seed plant morphologies, how they have shifted over evolution to shape modern day species, and how the genes governing these morphologies have evolved. However, conifers and other gymnosperms have been notoriously difficult to study due to their long generation times, inaccessibility to genetic experimentation and unavailable genome sequences. Now, with three draft genomes from spruces and pines, rapid advances in next generation sequencing methods for genome wide expression analyses, and enhanced methods for genetic transformation, we are much better equipped to address a number of key evolutionary questions relating to seed plant evolution. In this mini-review we highlight recent progress in conifer developmental biology relevant to evo-devo questions. We discuss how genome sequence data and novel techniques might allow us to explore genetic variation and naturally occurring conifer mutants, approaches to reduce long generation times to allow for genetic studies in conifers, and other potential upcoming research avenues utilizing current and emergent techniques. Results from developmental studies of conifers and other gymnosperms in comparison to those in angiosperms will provide information to trace core molecular developmental control tool kits of ancestral seed plants, but foremost they will greatly improve our understanding of the biology of conifers and other gymnosperms in their own right.

Somatic embryogenesis can be used for large-scale propagation of plants. In most conifers, it is only possible to establish embryogenic cultures from zygotic embryos or young seedlings. There is, however, a great interest to propagate selected trees with valuable traits via somatic embryos. To be able to establish embryogenic cultures from adult tissues, more knowledge about the molecular regulation of totipotency and embryogenic potential is needed. In Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), LEAFY COTYLEDON1 (LEC1) is required for somatic embryogenesis, and overexpression of LEC1 can stimulate the formation of embryo-like structures from vegetative tissues. We have previously characterized a conifer LEC1-type gene, PaHAP3A, which is preferentially active during embryo development in Norway spruce (Picea abies). In this work, we show, by using histochemical GUS assays, that PaHAP3A is expressed in germinated embryos at presumptive sites from which embryogenic tissue differentiate during initiation of embryogenic cultures. Furthermore, we have overexpressed PaHAP3A, using both constitutive and inducible promoters, in order to elucidate whether elevated transcript levels of PaHAP3A are sufficient to induce embryonic properties after germination. In contrast to its angiosperm counterpart, PaHAP3A does not stimulate embryonic features in vegetative tissues. However, overexpression of PaHAP3A during the maturation stage leads to the differentiation of ectopic embryos from maturing somatic embryos. Our results not only indicate at least partial conservation between the conifer and angiosperm LEC1-type genes but also suggest that PaHAP3A is dependent of the cellular status to confer its presumptive role as an important factor influencing the competence of the tissue to initiate somatic embryos.

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