Tani Eleni, Polidoros Alexios N, Flemetakis Emmanouil, Stedel Catalina, Kalloniati Chrissanthi, Demetriou Kyproula, Katinakis Panagiotis, Tsaftaris Athanasios S
Institute of Agrobiotechnology (IN.A.), CERTH, 6th km Charilaou-Thermis Road, Thermi GR-570 01, Greece.
Plant Physiol Biochem. 2009 Aug;47(8):690-700. doi: 10.1016/j.plaphy.2009.03.013. Epub 2009 Apr 9.
MADS-box genes encode transcriptional regulators that are critical for flowering, flower organogenesis and plant development. Although there are extensive reports on genes involved in flower organogenesis in model and economically important plant species, there are few reports on MADS-box genes in woody plants. In this study, we have cloned and characterized AGAMOUS (AG), SEEDSTICK (STK) and SEPALLATA (SEP) homologs from peach tree (Prunus persica L. Batsch) and studied their expression patterns in different tissues as well as in fruit pericarp during pit hardening. AG- STK- and SEP-like homologs, representative of the C-, D-, E-like MADS-box gene lineages, respectively, play key roles in stamen, carpel, ovule and fruit development in Arabidopsis thaliana. Sequence similarities, phylogenetic analysis and structural characteristics were used to provide classification of the isolated genes in type C (PPERAG), type D (PPERSTK) and type E (PPERSEP1, PPERSEP3, PPERFB9) organ identity genes. Expression patterns were determined and in combination with phylogenetic data provided useful indications on the function of these genes. These data suggest the involvement of MADS-box genes in peach flower and fruit development and provide further evidence for the role of these genes in woody perennial trees that is compatible with their function in model plant species.
MADS-box基因编码转录调节因子，这些因子对开花、花器官发生和植物发育至关重要。尽管在模式植物和经济上重要的植物物种中，有大量关于参与花器官发生的基因的报道，但关于木本植物中MADS-box基因的报道却很少。在本研究中，我们从桃树（Prunus persica L. Batsch）中克隆并鉴定了AGAMOUS（AG）、SEEDSTICK（STK）和SEPALLATA（SEP）的同源基因，并研究了它们在不同组织以及硬核期果实果皮中的表达模式。AG、STK和SEP类同源基因分别代表C类、D类、E类MADS-box基因谱系，在拟南芥的雄蕊、心皮、胚珠和果实发育中起关键作用。通过序列相似性、系统发育分析和结构特征对分离出的基因进行分类，分为C类（PPERAG）、D类（PPERSTK）和E类（PPERSEP1、PPERSEP3、PPERFB9）器官特征基因。确定了表达模式，并结合系统发育数据为这些基因的功能提供了有用的线索。这些数据表明MADS-box基因参与了桃花和果实的发育，并为这些基因在多年生木本植物中的作用提供了进一步的证据，这与它们在模式植物物种中的功能相一致。
