Reference "FRIZZY PANICLE is required to prevent the formation of axillary meristems and to establish floral meristem identity in rice spikelets"

Reference ID

7982

Title

FRIZZY PANICLE is required to prevent the formation of axillary meristems and to establish floral meristem identity in rice spikelets

Source

Development (Cambridge, England), 2003, vol. 130, pp. 3841-3850

Authors (5)

Komatsu-M	Chujo-A
Nagato-Y	Shimamoto-K
Kyozuka-J

Abstract

Inflorescences of grass species have a distinct morphology in which florets are
grouped in compact branches called spikelets. Although many studies have shown
that the molecular and genetic mechanisms that control floret organ formation
are conserved between monocots and dicots, little is known about the genetic
pathway leading to spikelet formation. In the frizzy panicle (fzp) mutant of
rice, the formation of florets is replaced by sequential rounds of branching.
Detailed analyses revealed that several rudimentary glumes are formed in each
ectopic branch, indicating that meristems acquire spikelet identity. However,
instead of proceeding to floret formation, axillary meristems are formed in the
axils of rudimentary glumes and they either arrest or develop into branches of
higher order. The fzp mutant phenotype suggests that FZP is required to prevent
the formation of axillary meristems within the spikelet meristem and permit the
subsequent establishment of floral meristem identity. The FZP gene was isolated
by transposon tagging. FZP encodes an ERF transcription factor and is the rice
ortholog of the maize BD1 gene. Consistent with observations from phenotypic
analyses, FZP expression was found to be restricted to the time of rudimentary
glumes differentiation in a half-ring domain at the base of which the
rudimentary glume primordium emerged.