Sequence and function of basic helix-loop-helix proteins required for stomatal development in Arabidopsis are deeply conserved in land plants

MacAlister, C. A., Bergmann, D. C. (March 2011) Sequence and function of basic helix-loop-helix proteins required for stomatal development in Arabidopsis are deeply conserved in land plants. Evolution & Development, 13 (2). pp. 182-192. ISSN 1520-541X

URL: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21410874
DOI: 10.1111/j.1525-142X.2011.00468.x

Abstract

Stomata are a broadly conserved feature of land plants with a crucial role regulating transpiration and gas exchange between the plant and atmosphere. Stereotyped cell divisions within a specialized cell lineage of the epidermis generate stomata and define the pattern of their distribution. The behavior of the stomatal lineage varies in its detail among different plant groups, but general features include asymmetric cell divisions and an immediate precursor (the guard mother cell [GMC]) that divides symmetrically to form the pair of cells that will differentiate into the guard cells. In Arabidopsis, the closely related basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) subgroup Ia transcription factors SPEECHLESS, MUTE, and FAMA promote asymmetric divisions, the acquisition of GMC identity and guard cell differentiation, respectively. Genome sequence data indicate that these key positive regulators of stomatal development are broadly conserved among land plants. While orthologies can be established among individual family members within the angiosperms, more distantly related groups contain subgroup Ia bHLHs of unclear affinity. We demonstrate group Ia members from the moss Physcomitrella patens can partially complement MUTE and FAMA and recapitulate gain of function phenotypes of group Ia genes in multiple steps in the stomatal lineage in Arabidopsis. Our data are consistent with a mechanism whereby a multifunctional transcription factor underwent duplication followed by specialization to provide the three (now nonoverlapping) functions of the angiosperm stomatal bHLHs.

Item Type: Paper
Uncontrolled Keywords: transcription factor family monocot-dicot divergence evolution diversity genes differentiation thaliana mutants genomes cascade
Subjects: organism description > plant > Arabidopsis
bioinformatics > genomics and proteomics > genetics & nucleic acid processing > DNA, RNA structure, function, modification
bioinformatics > genomics and proteomics > genetics & nucleic acid processing
bioinformatics > genomics and proteomics
bioinformatics > genomics and proteomics > genetics & nucleic acid processing > protein structure, function, modification
bioinformatics > genomics and proteomics > genetics & nucleic acid processing > DNA, RNA structure, function, modification > genes, structure and function
organism description > plant
CSHL Authors:
Communities: CSHL labs > Lippman lab
CSHL Post Doctoral Fellows
Depositing User: Matt Covey
Date: March 2011
Date Deposited: 06 Feb 2013 21:16
Last Modified: 02 May 2013 20:38
PMCID: PMC3139685
Related URLs:
URI: https://repository.cshl.edu/id/eprint/27159

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