Open AccessRecruitment of an ancient branching program to suppress carpel development in maize flowers
Author(s) -
Harry Klein,
Joseph P. Gallagher,
Edgar Demesa-Arévalo,
María Jazmín Abraham-Juárez,
Michelle Heeney,
Regina Feil,
John E. Lunn,
Yuguo Xiao,
George Chuck,
Clinton Whipple,
David Jackson,
Madelaine Bartlett
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the united states of america
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.011
H-Index - 771
eISSN - 1091-6490
pISSN - 0027-8424
DOI - 10.1073/pnas.2115871119
Subject(s) - gynoecium , biology , meristem , imaginal disc , arabidopsis , microbiology and biotechnology , genetics , mads box , mutant , gene , botany , stamen , pollen
Significance Floral morphology is immensely diverse. One developmental process acting to shape this diversity is growth suppression. For example, grass flowers exhibit extreme diversity in floral sexuality, arising through differential suppression of stamens or carpels. The genes regulating this growth suppression and how they have evolved remain largely unknown. We discovered that two classic developmental genes with ancient roles in controlling vegetative branching were recruited to suppress carpel development in maize. Our results highlight the power of forward genetics to reveal unpredictable genetic interactions and hidden pleiotropy of developmental genes. More broadly, our findings illustrate how ancient gene functions are recruited to new developmental contexts in the evolution of plant form.