School of Biology and Environmental Science, University College Dublin, Irel.
J Exp Bot. 2018 Mar 24;69(7):1447-1469. doi: 10.1093/jxb/erx479.
MADS-box genes are key regulators of virtually every aspect of plant reproductive development. They play especially prominent roles in flowering time control, inflorescence architecture, floral organ identity determination, and seed development. The developmental and evolutionary importance of MADS-box genes is widely acknowledged. However, their role during flowering plant domestication is less well recognized. Here, we provide an overview illustrating that MADS-box genes have been important targets of selection during crop domestication and improvement. Numerous examples from a diversity of crop plants show that various developmental processes have been shaped by allelic variations in MADS-box genes. We propose that new genomic and genome editing resources provide an excellent starting point for further harnessing the potential of MADS-box genes to improve a variety of reproductive traits in crops. We also suggest that the biophysics of MADS-domain protein-protein and protein-DNA interactions, which is becoming increasingly well characterized, makes them especially suited to exploit coding sequence variations for targeted breeding approaches.
MADS 框基因是植物生殖发育几乎所有方面的关键调控因子。它们在开花时间控制、花序结构、花器官身份确定和种子发育中起着尤为突出的作用。MADS 框基因在发育和进化中的重要性得到了广泛认可。然而，它们在开花植物驯化过程中的作用还不太为人所知。在这里，我们提供了一个概述，说明 MADS 框基因在作物驯化和改良过程中一直是选择的重要目标。来自各种作物的众多例子表明，各种发育过程都受到 MADS 框基因等位变异的影响。我们提出，新的基因组和基因组编辑资源为进一步利用 MADS 框基因的潜力来改良作物的多种生殖性状提供了一个极好的起点。我们还认为，MADS 结构域蛋白-蛋白和蛋白-DNA 相互作用的生物物理学特性越来越完善，使它们特别适合利用编码序列变异来进行有针对性的育种方法。
