Premium
The essential role of NGATHA genes in style and stigma specification is widely conserved across eudicots
Author(s) -
Fourquin Chloé,
Ferrándiz Cristina
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
new phytologist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.742
H-Index - 244
eISSN - 1469-8137
pISSN - 0028-646X
DOI - 10.1111/nph.12703
Subject(s) - eudicots , biology , nicotiana benthamiana , gynoecium , gene , genetics , gene silencing , evolutionary biology , botany , stamen , pollen , taxonomy (biology)
Summary Carpel development and evolution are central issues for plant biology. The conservation of genetic functions conferring carpel identity has been widely studied in higher plants. However, although genetic networks directing the development of characteristic features of angiosperm carpels such as stigma and style are increasingly known in A rabidopsis thaliana , little information is available on the conservation and diversification of these networks in other species. Here, we have studied the functional conservation of NGATHA transcription factors in widely divergent species within the eudicots. We determined by in situ hybridization the expression patterns of NGATHA orthologs in E schscholzia californica and Nicotiana benthamiana . Virus‐induced gene silencing ( VIGS )‐mediated inactivation of NGATHA genes in both species was performed and different microscopy techniques were used for phenotypic characterization. We found the expression patterns of E c NGA and N b NGA genes during flower development to be highly similar to each other, as well as to those reported for A rabidopsis NGATHA genes. Inactivation of E c NGA and N b NGA also caused severe defects in style and stigma development in both species. These results demonstrate the widely conserved essential role of NGATHA genes in style and stigma specification and suggest that the angiosperm‐specific NGATHA genes were likely recruited to direct a carpel‐specific developmental program.