Box, M.S. and Dodsworth, Steven and Rudall, P.J. and Bateman, R.M. and Glover, B.J. (2012) Flower-specific KNOX phenotype in the orchid Dactylorhiza fuchsii. Journal of Experimental Botany 63 (13), pp. 4811-4819. ISSN 0022-0957.
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Abstract
The KNOTTED1-like homeobox (KNOX) genes are best known for maintaining a pluripotent stem-cell population in the shoot apical meristem that underlies indeterminate vegetative growth, allowing plants to adapt their development to suit the prevailing environmental conditions. More recently, the function of the KNOX gene family has been expanded to include additional roles in lateral organ development such as complex leaf morphogenesis, which has come to dominate the KNOX literature. Despite several reports implicating KNOX genes in the development of carpels and floral elaborations such as petal spurs, few authors have investigated the role of KNOX genes in flower development. Evidence is presented here of a flower-specific KNOX function in the development of the elaborate flowers of the orchid Dactylorhiza fuchsii, which have a three-lobed labellum petal with a prominent spur. Using degenerate PCR, four Class I KNOX genes (DfKN14) have been isolated, one from each of the four major Class I KNOX subclades and by reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR), it is demonstrated that DfKNOX transcripts are detectable in developing floral organs such as the spur-bearing labellum and inferior ovary. Although constitutive expression of the DfKN2 transcript in tobacco produces a wide range of floral abnormalities, including serrated petal margins, extra petal tissue, and fused organs, none of the vegetative phenotypes typical of constitutive KNOX expression were produced. These data are highly suggestive of a role for KNOX expression in floral development that may be especially important in taxa with elaborate flowers.
Metadata
| Item Type: | Article |
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| Additional Information: | Funding Information: We thank Matthew Dorling for excellent plant care, Tim Upson, Murphy Thomas, and Rubén Àlvarez Fernández for helpful discussions, and Rachel Walker for advice on phylogenetic analysis. This work was supported by a Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) doctoral training grant (DTG) studentship. |
| Keyword(s) / Subject(s): | Dactylorhiza fuchsii, evolution, flower development, KNOX genes, labellum, orchids, petal shape, petal spur |
| School: | Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Science > School of Natural Sciences |
| Research Centres and Institutes: | Structural Molecular Biology, Institute of (ISMB) |
| Depositing User: | Steven Dodsworth |
| Date Deposited: | 20 Sep 2024 15:42 |
| Last Modified: | 20 Sep 2024 16:03 |
| URI: | https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/54078 |
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