Jack T, Brockman L L, Meyerowitz E M
Division of Biology, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena 91125.
Cell. 1992 Feb 21;68(4):683-97. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(92)90144-2.
Mutations in the APETALA3 (AP3) gene of A. thaliana result in homeotic transformations of petals to sepals and stamens to carpels. We have cloned the AP3 gene from Arabidopsis based on its homology to the homeotic flower gene deficiens (DEFA) from the distantly related plant Antirrhinum majus. The sequence of four ap3 mutant alleles and genetic mapping analysis prove that the DEFA homolog is AP3. Like several other plant homeotic genes, the AP3 gene contains a MADS box and likely acts as a transcription factor. The region-specific spatial expression pattern of AP3 rules out certain types of sequential models of flower development and argues in favor of a spatial model based on positional information. Since DEFA and AP3 have very similar protein products, mutant phenotypes, and spatial expression patterns, it is likely that these genes are cognate homologs.
拟南芥APETALA3（AP3）基因的突变会导致花瓣向萼片的同源异型转变以及雄蕊向心皮的同源异型转变。我们基于与远缘植物金鱼草的同源异型花基因deficiens（DEFA）的同源性，从拟南芥中克隆了AP3基因。四个ap3突变等位基因的序列和遗传图谱分析证明，DEFA的同源物是AP3。与其他几个植物同源异型基因一样，AP3基因包含一个MADS框，可能作为转录因子发挥作用。AP3的区域特异性空间表达模式排除了某些类型的花发育顺序模型，并支持基于位置信息的空间模型。由于DEFA和AP3具有非常相似的蛋白质产物、突变表型和空间表达模式，这些基因很可能是同源同源物。
