Journal
CURRENT BIOLOGY
Volume 30, Issue 5, Pages 802-+Publisher
CELL PRESS
DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2019.12.067
Keywords
-
Categories
Funding
- National Science Foundation (NSF) [IOS-1558083]
- National Institutes of Health (NIH) [R01GM131055]
- University of Virginia
- UC Berkeley
- NSF [IOS-1558035]
- NIH [R24GM134211, 5R01GM088805, S10 OD018174]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Many organisms exhibit visually striking spotted or striped pigmentation patterns. Developmental models predict that such spatial patterns can form when a local autocatalytic feedback loop and a long-range inhibitory feedback loop interact. At its simplest, this self-organizing network only requires one self-activating activator that also activates a repressor, which inhibits the activator and diffuses to neighboring cells. However, the molecular activators and inhibitors fully fitting this versatile model remain elusive in pigmentation systems. Here, we characterize an R2R3-MYB activator and an R3-MYB repressor in monkeyflowers (Mimulus). Through experimental perturbation and mathematical modeling, we demonstrate that the properties of these two proteins correspond to an activator-inhibitor pair in a two-component, reaction-diffusion system, explaining the formation of dispersed anthocyanin spots in monkeyflower petals. Notably, disrupting this pattern impacts pollinator visitation. Thus, subtle changes in simple activator-inhibitor systems are likely essential contributors to the evolution of the remarkable diversity of pigmentation patterns in flowers.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available