Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 17, 2026

Imaging Spatial Reorganization of a MAPK Signaling Pathway Using the Tobacco Transient Expression System
Published on: March 20, 2016
The MADS-domain protein MPF1 of Physalis floridana controls plant architecture, seed development and flowering time
Chaoying He1, Ying Tian, Rainer Saedler
1State Key Laboratory of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiangshan, Nanxincun 20, 100093 Beijing, China. chaoying@ibcas.ac.cn
Abstract:
Floral and vegetative development of plants is dependent on the combinatorial action of MADS-domain transcription factors. Members of the STMADS11 subclade, such as MPF1 of Physalis, are abundantly expressed in leaves as well as in floral organs, but their function is not yet clear. Our studies with transgenic Arabidopsis that over-express MPF1 suggest that MPF1 interacts with SOC1 to determine flowering time. However, MPF1 RNAi-mediated knockdown Physalis plants revealed a complex phenotype with changes in flowering time, plant architecture and seed size. Flowering of these plants was delayed by about 20% as compared to wild type. Expression of PFLFY is upregulated in the MPF1 RNAi lines, while PFFT and MPF3 genes are strongly repressed. MPF1 interacts with a subset of MADS-domain factors, namely with PFSOC1 in planta, and with PFSEP3 and PFFUL in yeast, supporting a regulatory role for this protein in flowering. The average size of seeds produced by the transgenic MPF1 RNAi plants is increased almost twofold. The height of these plants is also increased about twofold, but most axillary buds are stunted when compared to controls. Taken together, this suggests that members of the STMADS11 subclade act as positive regulators of flowering but have diverse functions in plant growth.
More Related Videos
14:34Determination of Tripartite Interaction between Two Monomers of a MADS-box Transcription Factor and a Calcium Sensor Protein by BiFC-FRET-FLIM Assay
Published on: December 25, 2021
12:36Chromatin Immunoprecipitation Assay for the Identification of Arabidopsis Protein-DNA Interactions In Vivo
Published on: January 14, 2016
Related Concept Videos
Morphogenesis
Photoreceptors and Plant Responses to Light
Cell Signaling in Plants
Biological Clocks and Seasonal Responses
Master Transcription Regulators
Seed Structure and Early Development of the Sporophyte