Open AccessCoordinating the morphogenesis-differentiation balance by tweaking the cytokinin-gibberellin equilibrium
Author(s) -
Alon Israeli,
Yogev Burko,
Sharona Shleizer-Burko,
Iris Daphne Zelnik,
Noa Sela,
MohammadReza Hajirezaei,
Alisdair R. Fernie,
Takayuki Tohge,
Naomi Ori,
Maya Bar
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
plos genetics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.587
H-Index - 233
eISSN - 1553-7404
pISSN - 1553-7390
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pgen.1009537
Subject(s) - morphogenesis , biology , gibberellin , cytokinin , myb , microbiology and biotechnology , context (archaeology) , transcription factor , botany , genetics , auxin , gene , paleontology
Morphogenesis and differentiation are important stages in organ development and shape determination. However, how they are balanced and tuned during development is not fully understood. In the compound leaved tomato, an extended morphogenesis phase allows for the initiation of leaflets, resulting in the compound form. Maintaining a prolonged morphogenetic phase in early stages of compound-leaf development in tomato is dependent on delayed activity of several factors that promote differentiation, including the CIN-TCP transcription factor (TF) LA, the MYB TF CLAU and the plant hormone Gibberellin (GA), as well as on the morphogenesis-promoting activity of the plant hormone cytokinin (CK). Here, we investigated the genetic regulation of the morphogenesis-differentiation balance by studying the relationship between LA, CLAU, TKN2, CK and GA. Our genetic and molecular examination suggest that LA is expressed earlier and more broadly than CLAU and determines the developmental context of CLAU activity. Genetic interaction analysis indicates that LA and CLAU likely promote differentiation in parallel genetic pathways. These pathways converge downstream on tuning the balance between CK and GA. Comprehensive transcriptomic analyses support the genetic data and provide insights into the broader molecular basis of differentiation and morphogenesis processes in plants.