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A promiscuous intermediate underlies the evolution of LEAFY DNA binding specificity.
Camille Sayou1, Marie Monniaux, Max H Nanao
1CNRS, Laboratoire de Physiologie Cellulaire et Végétale (LPCV), UMR 5168, 38054 Grenoble, France.
Science (New York, N.Y.)
|January 18, 2014
Summary
Transcription factors (TFs) evolve new functions, often via gene duplication. However, the LEAFY TF evolved new DNA binding specificities as a single copy, facilitated by a promiscuous intermediate form.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary biology
- Molecular biology
- Plant science
Background:
- Transcription factors (TFs) regulate gene expression and are crucial for evolutionary innovation.
- Gene duplication is a common mechanism for TFs to acquire new functions by releasing one copy from selective pressure.
- The LEAFY gene is a critical regulator of flower development and cell division in land plants.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how the LEAFY TF evolved changes in DNA binding specificity without gene duplication.
- To elucidate the structural mechanisms underlying the evolution of TF function.
- To understand the role of intermediate forms in evolutionary transitions.
Main Methods:
- Structural analysis of LEAFY protein.
- Comparative genomics to assess gene copy number.
- Functional analysis of intermediate TF forms.
Main Results:
- The LEAFY gene, a single-copy gene in most plants, evolved altered DNA binding specificities.
- An intermediate LEAFY form was identified in hornworts exhibiting promiscuous DNA binding.
- This intermediate form appears to bind to multiple specificities, bridging evolutionary changes.
Conclusions:
- LEAFY evolved new DNA binding specificities while remaining a single-copy gene.
- A promiscuous intermediate LEAFY form facilitated these evolutionary transitions.
- This provides a mechanism for TF functional evolution independent of gene duplication.
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