SUPERMAN prevents class B gene expression and promotes stem cell termination in the fourth whorl of Arabidopsis thaliana flowers
Abstract
The molecular and genetic networks underlying the determination of floral organ identity are well studied, but much less is known about how the flower is partitioned into four developmentally distinct whorls. The SUPERMAN gene is required for proper specification of the boundary between stamens in whorl 3 and carpels in whorl 4, as superman mutants exhibit supernumerary stamens but usually lack carpels. However, it has remained unclear whether extra stamens in superman mutants originate from an organ identity change in whorl 4 or the overproliferation of whorl 3. Using live confocal imaging, we show that the extra stamens in superman mutants arise from cells in whorl 4, which change their fate from female to male, while floral stem cells proliferate longer, allowing for the production of additional stamens.
Additional Information
© 2017 National Academy of Sciences. Contributed by Elliot M. Meyerowitz, May 19, 2017 (sent for review April 11, 2017; reviewed by Richard G. H. Immink and David Smyth). Published online before print June 20, 2017. We thank John Chandler and Paul Tarr for providing reporter lines, Toshiro Ito and Frank Wellmer for critical reading of the manuscript, and Ann Lavanway for her tremendous help with live confocal imaging. Funding in the T.P.J. Laboratory was provided by National Science Foundation Grant IOS-0926347; and funding in the E.M.M. Laboratory was provided by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the National Institutes of Health Grant R01 GM104244, and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation through Grant GBMF3406. Author contributions: N.P., P.D., E.M.M., and T.P.J. designed the experiments; N.P., W.Y., and T.P.J. performed the experiments; N.P. and T.P.J. generated the reporter lines; N.P. performed the live confocal imaging; W.Y. performed the in situ hybridizations; N.P. wrote the paper; and P.D., E.M.M., and T.P.J. edited versions of the paper. Reviewers: R.G.H.I., Wageningen Plant Research; and D.S., Monash University. The authors declare no conflict of interest. This article contains supporting information online at www.pnas.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1073/pnas.1705977114/-/DCSupplemental.Attached Files
Published - PNAS-2017-Prunet-7166-71.pdf
Submitted - 107722.full.pdf
Supplemental Material - pnas.1705977114.sm01.mov
Supplemental Material - pnas.1705977114.sm02.avi
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Additional details
- Alternative title
- SUPERMAN prevents stamen formation and promotes stem cell termination in the fourth whorl of the Arabidopsis flower
- PMCID
- PMC5502645
- Eprint ID
- 78461
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:20170622-093332240
- NSF
- IOS-0926347
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI)
- NIH
- R01 GM104244
- Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
- GBMF3406
- Created
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2017-06-22Created from EPrint's datestamp field
- Updated
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2022-03-25Created from EPrint's last_modified field