Deciphering the evolutionary development of the "Chinese lantern" within Solanaceae

Area of Science:

• Plant developmental biology
• Evolutionary genetics
• Solanaceae genomics

Background:

• The inflated calyx syndrome (ICS) in Physalis creates a "Chinese lantern" structure around the fruit.
• The evolutionary origins and developmental mechanisms of ICS are not fully understood.
• MADS-box genes have been implicated in ICS development within the Solanaceae family over the past two decades.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review current knowledge on the evolutionary development (evo-devo) of ICS in Solanaceae.
• To identify achievements, challenges, and recent progress in ICS research.
• To propose an integrated strategy for pinpointing key genetic variations underlying ICS evolution.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing literature on MADS-box genes and ICS.
• Analysis of forward and reverse genetics studies.
• Phylogenetic framework integration.

Main Results:

• ICS plays roles in fruit protection and dispersal.
• ICS development is triggered by post-fertilization signals, mimicked by gibberellin and cytokinin.
• MPF2-like expression and MBP21-like loss are proposed evolutionary events, but manipulating MADS-box genes has not fully explained ICS origin.

Conclusions:

• The precise genetic underpinnings of ICS evolution remain elusive, possibly due to secondary mutations or undiscovered genes.
• Recent progress includes obtaining lantern mutants in Physalis floridana.
• An integrated approach combining forward/reverse genetics within a phylogenetic context is proposed for future research.