Zygomorphic flowers, with bilateral (dorsoventral) symmetry, are considered to have evolved several times independently in flowering plants. In Antirrhinum majus, floral dorsoventral symmetry depends on the activity of two TCP-box genes, CYCLOIDEA (CYC) and DICHOTOMA (DICH). To examine whether the same molecular mechanism of floral asymmetry operates in the distantly related Rosid clade of eudicots, in which asymmetric flowers are thought to have evolved independently, we investigated the function of a CYC homologue LjCYC2 in a papilionoid legume, Lotus japonicus. We showed a role for LjCYC2 in establishing dorsal identity by altering its expression in transgenic plants and analyzing its mutant allele squared standard 1 (squ1). Furthermore, we identified a lateralizing factor, Keeled wings in Lotus 1 (Kew1), which plays a key role in the control of lateral petal identity, and found LjCYC2 interacted with Kew1, resulting in a double mutant that bore all petals with ventralized identity to some extents. Thus, we demonstrate that CYC homologues have been independently recruited as determinants of petal identities along the dorsoventral axis in two distant lineages of flowering plants, suggesting a common molecular origin for the mechanisms controlling floral zygomorphy.dorsoventral axis ͉ floral development ͉ keeled wings in Lotus ͉ LjCYC2 ͉ squared standard

Floral zygomorphy (flowers with bilateral symmetry) has multiple origins and typically manifests two kinds of asymmetries, dorsoventral (DV) and organ internal (IN) asymmetries in floral and organ planes, respectively, revealing the underlying key regulators in plant genomes that generate and superimpose various mechanisms to build up complexity and different floral forms during plant development. In this study, we investigate the loci affecting these asymmetries during the development of floral zygomorphy in pea (Pisum sativum L.). Two genes, LOBED STANDARD 1 (LST1) and KEELED WINGS (K), were cloned that encode TCP transcription factors and have divergent functions to constitute the DV asymmetry. A previously undescribed regulator, SYMMETRIC PETALS 1 (SYP1), has been isolated as controlling IN asymmetry. Genetic analysis demonstrates that DV and IN asymmetries could be controlled independently by the two kinds of regulators in pea, and their interactions help to specify the type of zygomorphy. Based on the genetic analysis in pea, we suggest that variation in both the functions and interactions of these regulators could give rise to the wide spectrum of floral symmetries among legume species and other flowering plants.symmetric petal ͉ dorsoventral asymmetry ͉ organ internal asymmetry ͉ KEELED WINGS ͉ LOBED STANDARD 1 F lower development in higher plants gives rise to an enormous variation of flower morphology and immense aesthetic diversification in nature. An important aspect for divergent floral developments is the establishment of floral symmetries, where a few distinct basic forms could be distinguished (1, 2): the monosymmetry (zygomorphy, with one symmetric plane), polysymmetry (actinomorphy, with several symmetric planes), and left-right asymmetry (with no symmetric plane). Among these, zygomorphy is considered the more specialized form and has been the most under investigation for its origin and underlying mechanisms.Fabaceae (legumes) is one of the largest families in angiosperm, with a range of floral symmetric forms, and its success is thought to be coupled with its predominant zygomorphic flowers (3, 4). Most zygomorphic flowers are found in the subfamily Papilionoideae (5, 6), which attracted the attention of researchers since the end of the 18th century (7). Darwin (8) demonstrated the role of this type of zygomorphy in pollination biology, and the special floral shape of papilionoid legumes was an important factor in Mendel's groundbreaking work on the laws of genetic inheritance in the 1850s. Pea flowers, like most zygomorphic flowers, possess prominent corolla with three petal types, which are arranged along a dorsoventral (DV) axis, and manifest two types of asymmetries: DV asymmetry in the floral plane and organ internal (IN) asymmetry in the floral organ plane (Fig. 1a). It is well documented that DV asymmetry in papilionoid legumes commences in the floral meristem when the asymmetric development of floral organ primordia occurs (Fig. 2a) (5, 6). However, IN asymmetry is variable among pet...

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Dermatomyositis, polymyositis and immune-mediated necrotising myopathy are major forms of idiopathic inflammatory myopathy. We review here recent developments in understanding the pathology and pathogenesis of these diseases, and characterisation of autoantibody biomarkers. Dermatomyositis is traditionally considered to be due to a complement-mediated microangiopathy but the factors responsible for complement activation remain uncertain. Recent studies have emphasised the importance of the type I interferon pathway in the pathogenesis of the disease and have identified autoantibodies with specificities for different clinical subgroups of patients. Polymyositis is characterised by a cytotoxic T cell response targeting as yet unidentified muscle antigens presented by MHC Class I molecules, and can occur in isolation but is more often part of a multi-systemic overlap syndrome. The immune-mediated necrotising myopathies are heterogeneous and are distinguished from polymyositis by the sparseness of inflammatory infiltrates and recognition of an association with specific autoantibodies such as anti-SRP and anti-HMGCR in many cases. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Neuromuscular Diseases: Pathology and Molecular Pathogenesis.

Graphical abstract

Understanding how natural selection and genetic drift shape biological variation is a central topic in biology, yet our understanding of the agents of natural selection and their target traits is limited. We investigated to what extent selection along an altitudinal gradient or genetic drift contributed to variation in ecologically relevant traits in Arabidopsis thaliana. We collected seeds from 8 to 14 individuals from each of 14 A. thaliana populations originating from sites between 800 and 2700 m above sea level in the Swiss Alps. Seed families were grown with and without vernalization, corresponding to winter-annual and summer-annual life histories, respectively. We analyzed putatively neutral genetic divergence between these populations using 24 simple sequence repeat markers. We measured seven traits related to growth, phenology and leaf morphology that are rarely reported in A. thaliana and performed analyses of altitudinal clines, as well as overall Q ST -F ST comparisons and correlation analyses among pair-wise Q ST , F ST and altitude of origin differences. Multivariate analyses suggested adaptive differentiation along altitude in the entire suite of traits, particularly when expressed in the summer-annual life history. Of the individual traits, a decrease in rosette leaf number in the vegetative state and an increase in leaf succulence with increasing altitude could be attributed to adaptive divergence. Interestingly, these patterns relate well to common within-and between-species trends of smaller plant size and thicker leaves at high altitude. Our results thus offer exciting possibilities to unravel the underlying mechanisms for these conspicuous trends using the model species A. thaliana.

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BackgroundSweet potato, a hexaploid species lacking a reference genome, is one of the most important crops in many developing countries, where abiotic stresses are a primary cause of reduction of crop yield. Glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) are multifunctional enzymes that play important roles in oxidative stress tolerance and cellular detoxification.ResultsA total of 42 putative full-length GST genes were identified from two local transcriptome databases and validated by molecular cloning and Sanger sequencing. Sequence and intraspecific phylogenetic analyses revealed extensive differentiation in their coding sequences and divided them into eight subfamilies. Interspecific phylogenetic and comparative analyses indicated that most examined GST paralogs might originate and diverge before the speciation of sweet potato. Results from large-scale RNA-seq and quantitative real-time PCR experiments exhibited extensive variation in gene-expression profiles across different tissues and varieties, which implied strong evolutionary divergence in their gene-expression regulation. Moreover, we performed five manipulated stress experiments and uncovered highly divergent stress-response patterns of sweet potato GST genes in aboveground and underground tissues.ConclusionsOur study identified a large number of sweet potato GST genes, systematically investigated their evolutionary diversification, and provides new insights into the GST-mediated stress-response mechanisms in this worldwide crop.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (DOI: 10.1186/s12870-017-1179-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.