The war of the whorls: genetic interactions controlling flower development

Coen, Enrico; Meyerowitz, Elliot M.

doi:10.1038/353031a0

Cited by 2,615 publications

(1,958 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…The identity of floral organs is specified combinatorially by a network of transcription factors that are expressed in the developing flower. The earliest and simplest incarnation of this insight is the so-called ABC model of flower development, established first in Arabidopsis thaliana and Antirrhinum majus 34 . According to this model, the combined action of three classes of transcription factors called A, B, and C are necessary to specify floral organ identity.…”

Section: Flowering Plant Evolutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gene duplications, robustness and evolutionary innovations

Wagner

2008

BioEssays

117

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Gene duplications, robustness and evolutionary innovations Gene duplications, robustness and evolutionary innovations AbstractMutational robustness facilitates evolutionary innovations. Gene duplications are unique kinds of mutations, in that they generally increase such robustness. The frequent association of gene duplications in regulatory networks with evolutionary innovation is thus a special case of a general mechanism linking innovation to robustness. The potential power of this mechanism to promote evolutionary innovations on large time scales is illustrated here with several examples. These include the role of gene duplications in the vertebrate radiation, flowering plant evolution and heart development, which encompass some of the most striking innovations in the evolution of life. Gene duplications, robustness, and evolutionary innovationsAndreas Wagner AbstractMutational robustness facilitates evolutionary innovations in biological systems. Gene duplications are unique kinds of mutations, in that they generally increase such robustness. The frequent association of gene duplications in regulatory networks with evolutionary innovation thus exemplifies a general mechanism linking innovation to robustness. I illustrate the potential power of this mechanism on large time scales with the role of gene duplications in the vertebrate radiation, flowering plant evolution, and heart development, which encompass some of the most striking innovations in the evolution of life. Mutational robustnessMutational robustness is a biological's system ability to withstand mutations. Such robustness exists on multiple levels of biological organization. A case in point are random mutagenesis experiments of various proteins. They suggest that only a small fraction of mutations affect protein function adversely. For instance, a study of the bacteriophage T4 lysozyme generated more than 2000 random amino acid changes in the protein. Only 16% of them affected lysozyme function 1 . Other examples come from regulatory gene networks, such as the molecular network specifying fruit fly segments. Such networks may tolerate much quantitative variation in interactions among network genes 2-5 . Examples at the highest level of organization include macroscopic traits. Even substantial genetic variation -ultimately caused by mutations -may leave such traits unchanged. Take the vulva of the nematode worms Caenorhabditis elegans and Pristionchus pacificus 6 . These organisms shared a common ancestor 200-300 million years ago. Their vulvae are very similar, yet the genetic and cellular networks producing them have diverged greatly. For example, whereas in C. elegans one specific cell -the anchor cell -induces vulva development, multiple gonadal cells are responsible for this induction in P. pacificus 7 . Similarly, the same key signaling molecules, such as Wnt, may play a positive role in the network for vulval induction in C. elegans, but a negative role in P. pacificus 8,9 . In sum, mutational robustness is everywhere, from proteins to or...

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Section: Flowering Plant Evolutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gene duplications, robustness and evolutionary innovations

Wagner

2008

BioEssays

117

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“…This model, based on genetic experiments in Antirrhinum and Arabidopsis [1,2], is striking in its simplicity and applicable in a wide range of angiosperm species. However, the development of floral organs requires not only the ABC function genes but also the downstream factors to elaborate their final shape.…”

Section: Wps1 Could Be a Downstream Component In The B Function Durinmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The classical 'ABC model' has been widely tested and proven to be generally applicable in controlling floral organ identity during floral development among angiosperms [1,2]. This model states that floral organ identity is specified by different combinations of the activities of the A, B and C class homeotic genes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wrinkled petals and stamens 1, is required for the morphogenesis of petals and stamens in Lotus japonicus

et al. 2006

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Although much progress has been made in understanding how floral organ identity is determined during the floral development, less is known about how floral organ is elaborated in the late floral developmental stages. Here we describe a novel floral mutant, wrinkled petals and stamens1 (wps1), which shows defects in the development of petals and stamens. Genetic analysis indicates that wps1 mutant is corresponding to a single recessive locus at the long arm of chromosome 3. The early development of floral organs in wps1 mutant is similar to that in wild type, and the malfunction of the mutant commences in late developmental stages, displaying a defect on the appearance of petals and stamens. In the mature flower, petals and stamen filaments in the mutant are wrinkled or folded, and the cellular morphology under L1 layer of petals and stamen filaments is abnormal. It is found that the expression patterns of floral organ identity genes are not affected in wps1 mutants compared with that of wild type, consistent with the unaltered development of all floral organs. Furthermore, the identities of epidermal cells in different type of petals are maintained. The histological analysis shows that in wps1 flowers all petals are irregularly folded, and there are knotted structures in the petals, while the shape and arrangement of inner cells are malformed and unorganized. Based on these results, we propose that Wps1 acts downstream to the class B floral organ identity genes, and functions to modulate the cellular differentiation during the late flower developmental stages.

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“…In seed plants MADS-box genes are involved in many different aspects of plant life (for review : Theiβen et al, 2000;Jack, 2001). Well known are MADS-box genes responsible for the definition of organ identity in angiosperm flowers; their functional interplay is summarized in combinatorial models based on the "ABC-model" of floral development (Coen & Meyerowitz, 1991). However, in a typical seed plant like Arabidopsis thaliana the socalled MIKC c MADS-box genes, of which the ABC function genes are typical representatives, constitute less than half of the more than 100 MADS-box genes which have been identified in genome-wide surveys (Kofuji et al, 2003;Pařenicová et al, 2003).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The MADS-domain protein PPM2 preferentially occurs in gametangia and sporophytes of the moss Physcomitrella patens

Quodt

Faigl

Saedler

et al. 2007

Gene

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To date, the function of MADS-domain transcription factors in non-seed plants remains largely elusive, although a number of genes have been isolated and characterized from a variety of species. In our study we analyzed PPM2, a classical MIKC-type MADS-box gene from the moss Physcomitrella patens, taking advantage of the unique technical properties Physcomitrella offers in terms of efficient homologous recombination. We determined mRNA and protein distribution and performed targeted disruption of the genomic locus for functional analysis of PPM2. Despite weak ubiquitous expression, PPM2 protein is mostly found in male and female gametangia and basal parts of developing sporophytes. Therefore, PPM2 seems to function in both the haploid and the diploid phase of the moss life cycle. This situation reflects an evolutionary transition state of gene recruitment from an ancestral gametophytic generation into a derived sporophytic generation which became dominating in tracheophytes. However, a knock-out of the PPM2 gene did not cause visible phenotypical changes in the respective structures. The implications of our findings for the understanding of the evolutionary history of MADS-box transcription factors in plants are discussed.

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The war of the whorls: genetic interactions controlling flower development

Cited by 2,615 publications

References 20 publications

Gene duplications, robustness and evolutionary innovations

Gene duplications, robustness and evolutionary innovations

Wrinkled petals and stamens 1, is required for the morphogenesis of petals and stamens in Lotus japonicus

The MADS-domain protein PPM2 preferentially occurs in gametangia and sporophytes of the moss Physcomitrella patens

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