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Detection of Histone Modifications in Plant Leaves
Published on: September 23, 2011
The floral regulator LEAFY evolves by substitutions in the DNA binding domain
Alexis Maizel1, Maximilian A Busch, Takako Tanahashi
1Department of Molecular Biology, Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, D-72076 Tübingen, Germany.
Science (New York, N.Y.)
|April 12, 2005
Summary
The plant transcription factor LEAFY has a conserved DNA binding domain but evolved altered activity. Rapidly evolving regions of LEAFY protein have minimal impact on its function.
Area of Science:
- Plant biology
- Evolutionary biology
- Molecular genetics
Background:
- The plant-specific transcription factor LEAFY (LFY) regulates life cycle events.
- LFY has general roles in basal plants like mosses (Physcomitrella patens).
- LFY has specialized roles in flowering plants (angiosperms), inducing floral fate.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the biochemical functional evolution of the LEAFY protein during land plant evolution.
- To understand how LEAFY's function changed from basal plants to angiosperms.
Main Methods:
- Comparative analysis of the LEAFY protein across different plant lineages.
- Biochemical assays to assess the activity of conserved and rapidly evolving regions of LEAFY.
Main Results:
- The DNA binding domain of LEAFY is largely conserved but shows diverged activity.
- Regions of the LEAFY protein that evolved more rapidly have minimal impact on its biochemical activity.
- Functional divergence of LEAFY is primarily linked to its conserved DNA binding domain.
Conclusions:
- The evolution of LEAFY's specialized function in angiosperms is associated with changes in its DNA binding domain activity.
- Rapidly evolving regions do not significantly contribute to the functional specialization of LEAFY.
- Understanding LEAFY evolution provides insights into the transition of plant reproductive strategies.
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