The Maize PI/GLO Ortholog Zmm16/sterile tassel silky ear1 Interacts with the Zygomorphy and Sex Determination Pathways in Flower Development

Bartlett, M. E., Williams, S. K., Taylor, Z., DeBlasio, S., Goldshmidt, A., Hall, D. H., Schmidt, R. J., Jackson, D. P., Whipple, C. J. (November 2015) The Maize PI/GLO Ortholog Zmm16/sterile tassel silky ear1 Interacts with the Zygomorphy and Sex Determination Pathways in Flower Development. Plant Cell, 27 (11). pp. 3081-3098. ISSN 1532-298X (Electronic)1040-4651 (Linking)

Abstract

In monocots and eudicots, B class function specifies second and third whorl floral organ identity as described in the classic ABCE model. Grass B class APETALA3/DEFICIENS orthologs have been functionally characterized; here, we describe the positional cloning and characterization of a maize (Zea mays) PISTILLATA/GLOBOSA ortholog Zea mays mads16 (Zmm16)/sterile tassel silky ear1 (sts1). We show that, similar to many eudicots, all the maize B class proteins bind DNA as obligate heterodimers and positively regulate their own expression. However, sts1 mutants have novel phenotypes that provide insight into two derived aspects of maize flower development: carpel abortion and floral asymmetry. Specifically, we show that carpel abortion acts downstream of organ identity and requires the growth-promoting factor grassy tillers1 and that the maize B class genes are expressed asymmetrically, likely in response to zygomorphy of grass floral primordia. Further investigation reveals that floral phyllotactic patterning is also zygomorphic, suggesting significant mechanistic differences with the well-characterized models of floral polarity. These unexpected results show that despite extensive study of B class gene functions in diverse flowering plants, novel insights can be gained from careful investigation of homeotic mutants outside the core eudicot model species.

Item Type: Paper
Subjects: bioinformatics > genomics and proteomics > genetics & nucleic acid processing > DNA, RNA structure, function, modification > DNA expression
organism description > plant > maize
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 > Jackson lab
Depositing User: Matt Covey
Date: November 2015
Date Deposited: 09 Nov 2015 17:53
Last Modified: 11 Jan 2017 17:07
PMCID: PMC4682306
Related URLs:
URI: https://repository.cshl.edu/id/eprint/31966

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