1. Analysis of TTG1 function in Arabis alpina
- Author
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Johannes Span, Martin Hülskamp, Swen Schellmann, Maria C. Albani, George Coupland, Heike Wolff, Andrea Schrader, and Divykriti Chopra
- Subjects
Arabis alpina ,biology ,Seed coat mucilage ,Brassicaceae ,TTG1 ,Trichomes ,Pro-anthocyanidin ,Plant Science ,Root hair ,biology.organism_classification ,Trichome ,Anthocyanidin ,Arabis ,Gene Expression Regulation, Plant ,Genetic model ,Botany ,Arabidopsis thaliana ,Root hairs ,Allele ,Plant Proteins ,Research Article - Abstract
Background In Arabidopsis thaliana (A. thaliana) the WD40 protein TRANSPARENT TESTA GLABRA1 (TTG1) controls five traits relevant for the adaptation of plants to environmental changes including the production of proanthocyanidin, anthocyanidin, seed coat mucilage, trichomes and root hairs. The analysis of different Brassicaceae species suggests that the function of TTG1 is conserved within the family. Results In this work, we studied the function of TTG1 in Arabis alpina (A. alpina). A comparison of wild type and two Aattg1 alleles revealed that AaTTG1 is involved in the regulation of all five traits. A detailed analysis of the five traits showed striking phenotypic differences between A. alpina and A. thaliana such that trichome formation occurs also at later stages of leaf development and that root hairs form at non-root hair positions. Conclusions The evolutionary conservation of the regulation of the five traits by TTG1 on the one hand and the striking phenotypic differences make A. alpina a very interesting genetic model system to study the evolution of TTG1-dependent gene regulatory networks at a functional level.
- Published
- 2014
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