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Stigma/style cell cycle inhibitor 1 (SCI1), a tissue-specific cell cycle regulator that controls upper pistil
Henrique C DePaoli1,2, Michael S Brito1,2, Andréa C Quiapim1
1Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto 14040-901, Brazil.
The New Phytologist
|March 11, 2011
Summary
Researchers discovered stigma/style cell cycle inhibitor 1 (SCI1) in tobacco, a gene controlling cell division and differentiation in stigmas/styles. SCI1 regulates stigma size by influencing cell proliferation.
Area of Science:
- Plant molecular biology
- Cell cycle regulation
- Reproductive biology
Background:
- A novel gene was identified in Nicotiana tabacum.
- Its function was previously unknown.
Purpose of the Study:
- To characterize the stigma/style cell cycle inhibitor 1 (SCI1) gene.
- To investigate SCI1's role in tobacco stigma and style development.
Main Methods:
- Suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) cDNA library construction.
- Fluorescence microscopy for protein localization.
- Real-time RT-PCR and in situ hybridization for gene expression analysis.
- RNA interference (RNAi) for gene knockdown and overexpression studies.
Main Results:
- SCI1 is a nuclear-localized, stigma/style-specific gene.
- SCI1 expression is developmentally regulated.
- SCI1 knockdown resulted in enlarged stigmas/styles due to increased cell numbers.
- SCI1 overexpression led to reduced stigma/style size due to decreased cell numbers.
- SCI1 acts as a negative regulator of the cell cycle.
Conclusions:
- SCI1 is a novel, tissue-specific gene that controls cell proliferation and differentiation in tobacco reproductive organs.
- SCI1 plays a crucial role in regulating stigma size by controlling cell division.
- SCI1 may function as part of a developmental signal transduction pathway influencing differentiation timing.
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