Reference "The YABBY Gene DROOPING LEAF Regulates Carpel Specification and Midrib Development in Oryza sativa"

Reference ID

8070

Title

The YABBY Gene DROOPING LEAF Regulates Carpel Specification and Midrib Development in Oryza sativa

Source

The Plant cell, 2004, vol. , pp. -

Authors (6)

Yamaguchi-T	Nagasawa-N
Kawasaki-S	Matsuoka-M
Nagato-Y	Hirano-H-Y

Abstract

In this article, we report that carpel specification in the Oryza sativa (rice)
flower is regulated by the floral homeotic gene DROOPING LEAF (DL) that is
distinct from the well-known ABC genes. Severe loss-of-function mutations of DL
cause complete homeotic transformation of carpels into stamens. Molecular
cloning reveals that DL is a member of the YABBY gene family and is closely
related to the CRABS CLAW (CRC) gene of Arabidopsis thaliana. DL is expressed in
the presumptive region (carpel anlagen), where carpel primordia would initiate,
and in carpel primordia. These results suggest that carpel specification is
regulated by DL in rice flower development. Whereas CRC plays only a partial
role in carpel identity, DL may have been recruited to have the more essential
function of specifying carpels during the evolution of rice. We also show that
DL interacts antagonistically with class B genes and controls floral meristem
determinacy. In addition, severe and weak dl alleles fail to form a midrib in
the leaf. The phenotypic analysis of dl mutants, together with analyses of the
spatial expression patterns and ectopic expression of DL, demonstrate that DL
regulates midrib formation by promoting cell proliferation in the central region
of the rice leaf.