Articles
ISOLATION AND EXPRESSION ANALYSIS OF FLORAL HOMEOTIC GENES IN FOUR FLOWERING CHERRIES, PRUNUS LANNESIANA
Article number
1087_13
Pages
121 – 127
Language
English
Abstract
In Japan, there are many flowering cherry cultivars that show divergent flower morphology.
We tried to clarify whether or not the ABCE model is applicable to flowering cherry.
In particular, we focused on three cultivars of Prunus lannesiana which bear double flowers: Eigenji (pale pink flowers), Grandiflora (yellow flowers), and Gioiko (greenish flowers). SSR analysis has shown that these cultivars are bud mutations from each other (Oyama, 2013). The three cultivars can be distinguished by stamen length and anther morphology.
In this study, two genes homologous to PISTILLATA, class B, and SEPALLATA3, class E, were cloned by RT-PCR and RACE from P. lannesiana var. speciose, a wild flowering cherry bearing single white flowers.
The genes were confirmed as homologous by high similarity in amino-acid sequence to PISTILLATA and SEPALLATA3. In addition to these two genes, expression patterns of three floral homeotic genes homologous to APETALA1, APETALA3 and AGAMOUS belonging to class A, B and C, respectively were also investigated.
Total RNA extracted from the separately collected floral organs of flower buds were subjected to expression analysis performed by RT-PCR southern hybridization.
The expression pattern obtained from the control P. lannesiana var. speciose fitted the classic ABC model well.
However, the other three cultivars showed unexpected expression patterns in some genes.
We tried to clarify whether or not the ABCE model is applicable to flowering cherry.
In particular, we focused on three cultivars of Prunus lannesiana which bear double flowers: Eigenji (pale pink flowers), Grandiflora (yellow flowers), and Gioiko (greenish flowers). SSR analysis has shown that these cultivars are bud mutations from each other (Oyama, 2013). The three cultivars can be distinguished by stamen length and anther morphology.
In this study, two genes homologous to PISTILLATA, class B, and SEPALLATA3, class E, were cloned by RT-PCR and RACE from P. lannesiana var. speciose, a wild flowering cherry bearing single white flowers.
The genes were confirmed as homologous by high similarity in amino-acid sequence to PISTILLATA and SEPALLATA3. In addition to these two genes, expression patterns of three floral homeotic genes homologous to APETALA1, APETALA3 and AGAMOUS belonging to class A, B and C, respectively were also investigated.
Total RNA extracted from the separately collected floral organs of flower buds were subjected to expression analysis performed by RT-PCR southern hybridization.
The expression pattern obtained from the control P. lannesiana var. speciose fitted the classic ABC model well.
However, the other three cultivars showed unexpected expression patterns in some genes.
Authors
K. Hosokawa, C. Uematsu, H. Katayama
Keywords
ABC model, MADS-box transcription factor, greenish flower, bud mutation, flower development
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