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APETALA1 and SEPALLATA3 interact to promote flower development.
S Pelaz1, C Gustafson-Brown, S E Kohalmi
1Section of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093-0116, USA.
The Plant Journal : for Cell and Molecular Biology
|July 6, 2001
Summary
The SEPALLATA3 (SEP3) gene interacts with APETALA1 (AP1) to promote normal flower development in Arabidopsis. This interaction is crucial for floral meristem identity and the development of sepals and petals.
Area of Science:
- Plant developmental biology
- Molecular genetics
- Arabidopsis research
Background:
- APETALA1 (AP1) and CAULIFLOWER (CAL) are MADS-box genes in Arabidopsis essential for floral meristem identity.
- AP1 also plays a role in the development of sepals and petals later in flower development.
- MADS-domain proteins often form complexes, suggesting AP1 and CAL interact with other proteins.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify proteins interacting with AP1 and CAL during Arabidopsis flower development.
- To investigate the role of the identified SEPALLATA3 (SEP3) gene in flower development.
Main Methods:
- Yeast two-hybrid assay to screen for interacting proteins.
- Analysis of SEP3 mutations and antisense plants.
- Observation of phenotypes in plants with altered SEP3 expression.
Main Results:
- The SEP3 gene was identified as a potential interactor of AP1 and CAL.
- SEP3 mutations and reduced SEP3 RNA resulted in phenotypes similar to AP1 intermediate alleles.
- Constitutive SEP3 expression enhanced the early flowering phenotype of AP1-overexpressing plants.
Conclusions:
- SEP3 interacts with AP1 to promote normal flower development in Arabidopsis.
- SEP3 is involved in floral meristem identity and sepal/petal development.
- The interaction between SEP3 and AP1 is critical for floral organogenesis.
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