The Arabidopsis ERECTA Gene Encodes a Putative Receptor Protein Kinase with Extracellular Leucine-Rich Repeats

Abstract

Arabidopsis Landsberg erecta is one of the most popular ecotypes and is used widely for both molecular and genetic studies. It harbors the erecta (er) mutation, which confers a compact inflorescence, blunt fruits, and short petioles. We have identified five er mutant alleles from ecotypes Columbia and Wassilewskija. Phenotypic characterization of the mutant alleles suggests a role for the ER gene in regulating the shape of organs originating from the shoot apical meristem. We cloned the ER gene, and here, we report that it encodes a putative receptor protein kinases. The deduced ER protein contains a cytoplasmic protein kinase catalytic domain, a transmembrane region, and an extracellular domain consisting of leucine-rich repeats, which are thought to interact with other macromolecules. Our results suggest that cell-cell communication mediated by a receptor kinase has an important role in plant morphogenesis.

Characterization of EMU, the Arabidopsis homolog of the yeast THO complex member HPR1

“…1H,I). These phenotypes are not observed in er mutants, and emu plants did not display er phenotypes (Torii et al 1996). On the other hand, emu er double mutants exhibited a novel phenotype, which neither emu nor er confers.…”

“…1A; Torii et al 1996;van Zanten et al 2009). Apart from the effect on ER expression, the emu mutation confers pleiotropic phenotypes.…”

Molecular marker genotypes, heterozygosity and genetic interactions explain heterosis in Arabidopsis thaliana

“…Although Ler is a low-performing parent, a large proportion of RILs  Ler crosses shows higher performance than RILs  Col crosses (Tables 2 and 3). This may be explained by the homozygous Ler background in RILs  Ler lines, where the effect of the erecta mutation in the second chromosome on plant height is known to have higher penetrance (Torii et al, 1996). Therefore, the background effects, new gene combinations and epistatic complexes play a significant role in hybrid performance (Doebley et al, 1995;Rasmusson and Phillips, 1997).…”

Map positions of 47 Arabidopsis sequences with sequence similarity to disease resistance genes

“…It is important to exercise some caution in interpreting these results both because the sequence fidelity of the ESTs is estimated to be only about 95% (Newman eta/., 1994) and because the full-length sequences of the EST clones are not available. Alternate splicing, such as exhibited by N (Whitham et aL, 1994) and L6 (Lawrence eta/., 1995), or variation in the poly(A) addition site (Rothnie, 1996) may also contribute to variation in the 3' sequences of mRNAs derived from the same gene. Given the limitations of the mapping data (as noted below), R-ESTs R89998 and T21150, which form part of TC9681, mapped to similar locations (Table 3, Figure 1).…”

“…maculicola with the avrRpml avirulence gene; Grant etal., 1995), and RPP5 (recognition of the downy mildew fungus, Peronospora parasitica; Parker etal., 1997). This group also includes the tobacco N gene (resistance to tobacco mosaic virus; Whitham et al, 1994) and the flax L6 gene (resistance to flax rust; Lawrence et aL, 1995). The cytoplasmic class of LRR disease resistance genes can be divided further into two subclasses distinguished by features at their amino termini.…”