Year: 2014
Type: article
Abstract: The molecular genetic mechanisms underlying abaxial-adaxial polarity in plants have been studied as a property of lateral and flattened organs, such as leaves. In leaves, laminar expansion occurs as a result of balanced abaxial-adaxial gene expression. Over- or under- expression of either abaxializing or adaxializing genes inhibits laminar growth, resulting in a mutant radialized phenotype. Here, we show that co-option of the abaxial-adaxial polarity gene network plays a role in the evolution of stamen filament morphology in angiosperms. RNA-Seq data from species bearing laminar (flattened) or radial (cylindrical) filaments demonstrates that species with laminar filaments exhibit balanced expression of abaxial-adaxial (ab-ad) genes, while overexpression of a YABBY gene is found in species with radial filaments. This result suggests that unbalanced expression of ab-ad genes results in inhibition of laminar outgrowth, leading to a radially symmetric structure as found in many angiosperm filaments. We anticipate that co-option of the polarity gene network is a fundamental mechanism shaping many aspects of plant morphology during angiosperm evolution.
Source: Scientific Reports
DOI: 10.1038/srep06194
Language: English
Subfield: Plant Science
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,690
Funders: National Science Foundation, University of California Institute for Mexico and the United States, Adolph C. and Mary Sprague Miller Institute for Basic Research in Science, University of California Berkeley, Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior, Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología, ERAB: The European Foundation for Alcohol Research, University of California, Riverside, University of California, Davis, Dirección General de Asuntos del Personal Académico, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Division of Integrative Organismal Systems
Awards: G6078673949, DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Evolution of floral morphology in Zingiberales: the role of positive selection on B class MADS-box genes, G6653938630, G6671297155, CAREER: Floral development in the Zingiberales: An Integrative Approach to Understanding the Evolution of Plant Form and Function, G8942296229
OpenAlex ID: W2025491763