RESUMEN
Plant organ primordia develop successively at the shoot apical meristem (SAM). In Arabidopsis, primordia formed early in development differentiate into vegetative leaves, whereas those formed later generate inflorescence branches and flowers. TERMINAL FLOWER 1 (TFL1), a negative regulator of transcription, acts in the SAM to delay flowering and to maintain inflorescence meristem indeterminacy. We used confocal microscopy, time-resolved transcript profiling and reverse genetics to elucidate this dual role of TFL1. We found that TFL1 accumulates dynamically in the SAM reflecting its dual function. Moreover, TFL1 represses two major sets of genes. One set includes genes that promote flowering, expression of which increases earlier in tfl1 mutants. The other set is spatially misexpressed in tfl1 inflorescence meristems. The misexpression of these two gene sets in tfl1 mutants depends upon FD transcription factor, with which TFL1 interacts. Furthermore, the MADS-box gene SEPALLATA 4, which is upregulated in tfl1, contributes both to the floral transition and shoot determinacy defects of tfl1 mutants. Thus, we delineate the dual function of TFL1 in shoot development in terms of its dynamic spatial distribution and different modes of gene repression.
Asunto(s)
Proteínas de Arabidopsis , Arabidopsis , Arabidopsis/metabolismo , Proteínas de Arabidopsis/genética , Proteínas de Arabidopsis/metabolismo , Regulación de la Expresión Génica de las Plantas/genética , Regulación del Desarrollo de la Expresión Génica , Flores , Meristema/metabolismoRESUMEN
Rice flowering is triggered by transcriptional reprogramming at the shoot apical meristem (SAM) mediated by florigenic proteins produced in leaves in response to changes in photoperiod. Florigens are more rapidly expressed under short days (SDs) compared to long days (LDs) and include the HEADING DATE 3a (Hd3a) and RICE FLOWERING LOCUS T1 (RFT1) phosphatidylethanolamine binding proteins. Hd3a and RFT1 are largely redundant at converting the SAM into an inflorescence, but whether they activate the same target genes and convey all photoperiodic information that modifies gene expression at the SAM is currently unclear. We uncoupled the contribution of Hd3a and RFT1 to transcriptome reprogramming at the SAM by RNA sequencing of dexamethasone-inducible over-expressors of single florigens and wild-type plants exposed to photoperiodic induction. Fifteen highly differentially expressed genes common to Hd3a, RFT1, and SDs were retrieved, 10 of which still uncharacterized. Detailed functional studies on some candidates revealed a role for LOC_Os04g13150 in determining tiller angle and spikelet development and the gene was renamed BROADER TILLER ANGLE 1 (BRT1). We identified a core set of genes controlled by florigen-mediated photoperiodic induction and defined the function of a novel florigen target controlling tiller angle and spikelet development.
Asunto(s)
Florigena , Flores , Florigena/metabolismo , Proteínas de Plantas/genética , Proteínas de Plantas/metabolismo , Meristema , Hojas de la Planta/metabolismoRESUMEN
The APETALA2 (AP2) transcription factor regulates flower development, floral transition and shoot apical meristem (SAM) maintenance in Arabidopsis. AP2 is also regulated at the post-transcriptional level by microRNA172 (miR172), but the contribution of this to SAM maintenance is poorly understood. We generated transgenic plants carrying a form of AP2 that is resistant to miR172 (rAP2) or carrying a wild-type AP2 susceptible to miR172. Phenotypic and genetic analyses were performed on these lines and mir172 mutants to study the role of AP2 regulation by miR172 on meristem size and the rate of flower production. We found that rAP2 enlarges the inflorescence meristem by increasing cell size and cell number. Misexpression of rAP2 from heterologous promoters showed that AP2 acts in the central zone (CZ) and organizing center (OC) to increase SAM size. Furthermore, we found that AP2 is negatively regulated by AUXIN RESPONSE FACTOR 3 (ARF3). However, genetic analyses indicated that ARF3 also influences SAM size and flower production rate independently of AP2. The study identifies miR172/AP2 as a regulatory module controlling inflorescence meristem size and suggests that transcriptional regulation of AP2 by ARF3 fine-tunes SAM size determination.
Asunto(s)
Proteínas de Arabidopsis , Arabidopsis , MicroARNs , Proteínas de Arabidopsis/genética , Proteínas de Arabidopsis/metabolismo , Flores , Regulación de la Expresión Génica de las Plantas , Proteínas de Homeodominio/metabolismo , Inflorescencia/metabolismo , Meristema/metabolismo , MicroARNs/genética , Proteínas Nucleares/metabolismoRESUMEN
In rice, the florigens Heading Date 3a (Hd3a) and Rice Flowering Locus T 1 (RFT1), OsFD-like basic leucine zipper (bZIP) transcription factors, and Gf14 proteins assemble into florigen activation/repressor complexes (FACs/FRCs), which regulate transition to flowering in leaves and apical meristem. Only OsFD1 has been described as part of complexes promoting flowering at the meristem, and little is known about the role of other bZIP transcription factors, the combinatorial complexity of FAC formation, and their DNA-binding properties. Here, we used mutant analysis, protein-protein interaction assays and DNA affinity purification (DAP) sequencing coupled to in silico prediction of binding syntaxes to study several bZIP proteins that assemble into FACs or FRCs. We identified OsFD4 as a component of a FAC promoting flowering at the shoot apical meristem, downstream of OsFD1. The osfd4 mutants are late flowering and delay expression of genes promoting inflorescence development. Protein-protein interactions indicate an extensive network of contacts between several bZIPs and Gf14 proteins. Finally, we identified genomic regions bound by bZIPs with promotive and repressive effects on flowering. We conclude that distinct bZIPs orchestrate floral induction at the meristem and that FAC formation is largely combinatorial. While binding to the same consensus motif, their DNA-binding syntax is different, suggesting discriminatory functions.
Asunto(s)
Florigena , Oryza , Florigena/metabolismo , Flores/metabolismo , Regulación de la Expresión Génica de las Plantas , Meristema/metabolismo , Oryza/genética , Oryza/metabolismo , Proteínas de Plantas/genética , Proteínas de Plantas/metabolismoRESUMEN
Plants measure day or night lengths to coordinate specific developmental changes with a favorable season. In rice (Oryza sativa), the reproductive phase is initiated by exposure to short days when expression of HEADING DATE 3a (Hd3a) and RICE FLOWERING LOCUS T 1 (RFT1) is induced in leaves. The cognate proteins are components of the florigenic signal and move systemically through the phloem to reach the shoot apical meristem (SAM). In the SAM, they form a transcriptional activation complex with the bZIP transcription factor OsFD1 to start panicle development. Here, we show that Hd3a and RFT1 can form transcriptional activation or repression complexes also in leaves and feed back to regulate their own transcription. Activation complexes depend on OsFD1 to promote flowering. However, additional bZIPs, including Hd3a BINDING REPRESSOR FACTOR1 (HBF1) and HBF2, form repressor complexes that reduce Hd3a and RFT1 expression to delay flowering. We propose that Hd3a and RFT1 are also active locally in leaves to fine-tune photoperiodic flowering responses.
Asunto(s)
Florigena/metabolismo , Flores/metabolismo , Meristema/metabolismo , Oryza/metabolismo , Proteínas de Plantas/metabolismo , Factores de Transcripción/metabolismo , Flores/genética , Flores/crecimiento & desarrollo , Regulación del Desarrollo de la Expresión Génica/efectos de la radiación , Regulación de la Expresión Génica de las Plantas/efectos de la radiación , Meristema/genética , Meristema/crecimiento & desarrollo , Oryza/genética , Oryza/crecimiento & desarrollo , Fotoperiodo , Hojas de la Planta/genética , Hojas de la Planta/crecimiento & desarrollo , Hojas de la Planta/metabolismo , Proteínas de Plantas/genética , Transducción de Señal/genética , Transducción de Señal/efectos de la radiación , Factores de Transcripción/genéticaRESUMEN
Plants flower in response to environmental signals. These signals change the shape and developmental identity of the shoot apical meristem (SAM), causing it to form flowers and inflorescences. We show that the increases in SAM width and height during floral transition correlate with changes in size of the central zone (CZ), defined by CLAVATA3 expression, and involve a transient increase in the height of the organizing center (OC), defined by WUSCHEL expression. The APETALA2 (AP2) transcription factor is required for the rapid increases in SAM height and width, by maintaining the width of the OC and increasing the height and width of the CZ. AP2 expression is repressed in the SAM at the end of floral transition, and extending the duration of its expression increases SAM width. Transcriptional repression by SUPPRESSOR OF OVEREXPRESSION OF CONSTANS1 (SOC1) represents one of the mechanisms reducing AP2 expression during floral transition. Moreover, AP2 represses SOC1 transcription, and we find that reciprocal repression of SOC1 and AP2 contributes to synchronizing precise changes in meristem shape with floral transition.
Asunto(s)
Proteínas de Arabidopsis , Arabidopsis , Flores , Regulación de la Expresión Génica de las Plantas , Proteínas de Homeodominio , Proteínas de Dominio MADS , Meristema , Arabidopsis/genética , Arabidopsis/metabolismo , Arabidopsis/crecimiento & desarrollo , Meristema/metabolismo , Meristema/crecimiento & desarrollo , Meristema/genética , Proteínas de Arabidopsis/metabolismo , Proteínas de Arabidopsis/genética , Flores/genética , Flores/crecimiento & desarrollo , Flores/metabolismo , Proteínas de Homeodominio/metabolismo , Proteínas de Homeodominio/genética , Proteínas de Dominio MADS/metabolismo , Proteínas de Dominio MADS/genética , Factores de Transcripción/metabolismo , Factores de Transcripción/genética , Regulación del Desarrollo de la Expresión Génica , Plantas Modificadas GenéticamenteRESUMEN
Many plant species monitor and respond to changes in day length (photoperiod) for aligning reproduction with a favourable season. Day length is measured in leaves and, when appropriate, leads to the production of floral stimuli called florigens that are transmitted to the shoot apical meristem to initiate inflorescence development1. Rice possesses two florigens encoded by HEADING DATE 3a (Hd3a) and RICE FLOWERING LOCUS T 1 (RFT1)2. Here we show that the arrival of Hd3a and RFT1 at the shoot apical meristem activates FLOWERING LOCUS T-LIKE 1 (FT-L1), encoding a florigen-like protein that shows features partially differentiating it from typical florigens. FT-L1 potentiates the effects of Hd3a and RFT1 during the conversion of the vegetative meristem into an inflorescence meristem and organizes panicle branching by imposing increasing determinacy to distal meristems. A module comprising Hd3a, RFT1 and FT-L1 thus enables the initiation and balanced progression of panicle development towards determinacy.
Asunto(s)
Florigena , Oryza , Florigena/metabolismo , Meristema/metabolismo , Proteínas de Plantas/genética , Proteínas de Plantas/metabolismo , Flores , Reproducción , Regulación de la Expresión Génica de las Plantas , Oryza/metabolismoRESUMEN
In several plant species, inflorescence formation is accompanied by stem elongation. Both processes are accelerated in rice upon perception of shortening days. Here, we show that PREMATURE INTERNODE ELONGATION 1 (PINE1), encoding a rice zinc-finger transcription factor, reduces the sensitivity of the stem to gibberellin (GA). The florigens reduce PINE1 expression to increase stem responsiveness to GA and promote flowering. These data indicate the existence of a regulatory network coordinating flowering and GA-dependent growth.
Asunto(s)
Oryza/fisiología , Proteínas de Plantas/fisiología , Factores de Transcripción/fisiología , Flores/crecimiento & desarrollo , Giberelinas/metabolismo , Oryza/crecimiento & desarrollo , Oryza/metabolismo , Fotoperiodo , Reguladores del Crecimiento de las Plantas/metabolismo , Proteínas de Plantas/metabolismo , Tallos de la Planta/crecimiento & desarrollo , Tallos de la Planta/metabolismo , Factores de Transcripción/metabolismo , Dedos de Zinc/fisiologíaRESUMEN
Flowering is the result of the coordination between genetic information and environmental cues. Gene regulatory networks have evolved in plants in order to measure diurnal and seasonal variation of day length (or photoperiod), thus aligning the reproductive phase with the most favorable season of the year. The capacity of plants to discriminate distinct photoperiods classifies them into long and short day species, depending on the conditions that induce flowering. Plants of tropical origin and adapted to short day lengths include rice, maize, and sorghum, whereas wheat and barley were originally domesticated in the Fertile Crescent and are considered long day species. In these and other crops, day length measurement mechanisms have been artificially modified during domestication and breeding to adapt plants to novel areas, to the extent that a wide diversity of responses exists within any given species. Notwithstanding the ample natural and artificial variation of day length responses, some of the basic molecular elements governing photoperiodic flowering are widely conserved. However, as our understanding of the underlying mechanisms improves, it becomes evident that specific regulators exist in many lineages that are not shared by others, while apparently conserved components can be recruited to novel functions during evolution.