Kwasniewska, Kamila, Breathnach, Caoilfhionn, Fitzsimons, Christina, Goslin, Kevin, Thomson, Bennett, Beegan, Joseph, Finocchio, Andrea, Prunet, Nathanael, O'Maoileidigh, Diarmuid S and Wellmer, Frank
(2021)
Expression of <i>KNUCKLES</i> in the Stem Cell Domain Is Required for Its Function in the Control of Floral Meristem Activity in <i>Arabidopsis</i>.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE, 12.
704351-.
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Expression of iKNUCKLESi in the Stem Cell Domain Is Required for Its Function in the Control of Floral Meristem Activity in .pdf - Published version Download (7MB) | Preview |
Abstract
In the model plant <i>Arabidopsis thaliana</i>, the zinc-finger transcription factor KNUCKLES (KNU) plays an important role in the termination of floral meristem activity, a process that is crucial for preventing the overgrowth of flowers. The <i>KNU</i> gene is activated in floral meristems by the floral organ identity factor AGAMOUS (AG), and it has been shown that both AG and KNU act in floral meristem control by directly repressing the stem cell regulator <i>WUSCHEL</i> (<i>WUS</i>), which leads to a loss of stem cell activity. When we re-examined the expression pattern of <i>KNU</i> in floral meristems, we found that <i>KNU</i> is expressed throughout the center of floral meristems, which includes, but is considerably broader than the <i>WUS</i> expression domain. We therefore hypothesized that KNU may have additional functions in the control of floral meristem activity. To test this, we employed a gene perturbation approach and knocked down <i>KNU</i> activity at different times and in different domains of the floral meristem. In these experiments we found that early expression in the stem cell domain, which is characterized by the expression of the key meristem regulatory gene <i>CLAVATA3</i> (<i>CLV3</i>), is crucial for the establishment of <i>KNU</i> expression. The results of additional genetic and molecular analyses suggest that KNU represses floral meristem activity to a large extent by acting on <i>CLV3</i>. Thus, KNU might need to suppress the expression of several meristem regulators to terminate floral meristem activity efficiently.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | stem cells, floral meristem, meristem termination, flower development, transcription factor |
| Divisions: | Faculty of Health and Life Sciences Faculty of Health and Life Sciences > Institute of Systems, Molecular and Integrative Biology |
| Depositing User: | Symplectic Admin |
| Date Deposited: | 24 Nov 2021 10:22 |
| Last Modified: | 17 Oct 2023 22:33 |
| DOI: | 10.3389/fpls.2021.704351 |
| Related URLs: | |
| URI: | https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3143769 |
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