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STENOFOLIA acts as a repressor in regulating leaf blade outgrowth
Hao Lin1, Lifang Niu, Million Tadege
1Department of Plant and Soil Sciences; Institute for Agricultural Biosciences; Oklahoma State University; Ardmore, OK USA.
Plant Signaling & Behavior
|April 23, 2013
Summary
The Medicago STENOFOLIA (STF) gene represses leaf blade growth. A conserved WUS-box in WUS-clade genes enables this repression, highlighting a shared mechanism in plant development.
Area of Science:
- Plant Molecular Biology
- Developmental Genetics
- Evolutionary Biology
Background:
- The Medicago WOX gene STENOFOLIA (STF) functions as a transcriptional repressor controlling leaf blade outgrowth.
- The WUS-box, a conserved motif in WUS-clade WOX genes, is implicated in STF's repressive activity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of the WUS-box in the transcriptional repression mediated by STF.
- To determine if other WUS-clade genes can functionally substitute for STF/LAM1.
- To understand the evolutionary conservation of this repression mechanism within the WOX gene family.
Main Methods:
- Utilized the Nicotiana sylvestris bladeless lam1 mutant as a genetic tool.
- Assessed the function of STF and other WOX genes in leaf development.
- Analyzed the presence and integrity of the WUS-box motif in different WOX clades.
Main Results:
- The WUS-box is partly responsible for the repressive activity of STF in leaf blade outgrowth.
- Arabidopsis WUS-clade genes (WUS, WOX1-WOX7) with an intact WUS-box can substitute for STF/LAM1 function.
- Intermediate and ancient clade WOX genes lacking an intact WUS-box (WOX9, WOX11, WOX13) cannot substitute for STF/LAM1.
Conclusions:
- A conserved repression mechanism involving the WUS-box is central to cell proliferation control in the WOX gene family.
- The acquisition of a repressor domain, like the WUS-box, has been a key evolutionary event in the dynamic WOX gene family.
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