Review
Plant Sciences
Juan Ramos-Pulido, Stefan de Folter
Summary: The success of angiosperms, the most successful group of land plants, is mainly attributed to the gynoecium, the innermost whorl of the flower. In Arabidopsis, the gynoecium is formed by two fused carpels, and a quasi-meristem called the carpel margin meristem plays a crucial role in its development. The study of gynoecium development, which is important for the production of seeds and fruits, has been a significant task for the scientific community. This review presents recent advances in Arabidopsis gynoecium patterning and highlights unanswered questions.
CURRENT OPINION IN PLANT BIOLOGY
(2023)
Review
Plant Sciences
J. Irepan Reyes-Olalde, Mitsuhiro Aida, Stefan de Folter
Summary: The appearance of the flower is a significant event in the evolutionary history of plants, with the gynoecium being a key organ that provides adaptive advantages. The gynoecium protects and facilitates fertilization of the ovules, which develop into seeds. In many species, the gynoecium itself becomes the fruit, aiding in seed dispersal. Despite recent advances in understanding the genetic regulatory network of gynoecium development, questions remain about the conservation of molecular mechanisms across different taxa and the origin of gynoecium diversification.
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Silvia Manrique, Alex Cavalleri, Andrea Guazzotti, Gonzalo H. Villarino, Sara Simonini, Aureliano Bombarely, Tetsuya Higashiyama, Ueli Grossniklaus, Chiara Mizzotti, Ana Marta Pereira, Silvia Coimbra, Subramanian Sankaranarayanan, Elisabetta Onelli, Simona Masiero, Robert G. Franks, Lucia Colombo
Summary: The gynoecium plays a critical role in the reproduction of flowering plants by containing ovules and tissues necessary for pollen germination and growth. Research has shown that HISTONE DEACETYLASE 19 (HDA19) is essential for the differentiation of ovules and the reproductive tract (ReT) by regulating the expression of SHOOT MERISTEMLESS (STM). This study provides valuable insights into plant organogenesis and tissue differentiation.
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Thomas Gross, Annette Becker
Summary: The study investigates the molecular mechanisms behind the simple on and off regulation of gene expression and the complex expression patterns in plants, revealing that transcription factors play a crucial role in regulating the sophisticated expression pattern of gynoecium, fine-tuning transcript abundance through homodimers, and requiring complex formation at multiple conserved promoter sites.
Article
Plant Sciences
Zhihua Cheng, Xiaofei Song, Xiaofeng Liu, Shuangshuang Yan, Weiyuan Song, Zhongyi Wang, Lijie Han, Jianyu Zhao, Liying Yan, Zhaoyang Zhou, Xiaolan Zhang
Summary: This study revealed the functions of the genes CsSPT and CsALC in regulating fruit cavity formation and female fertility determination in cucumber. These two genes mediate the expression of genes involved in transmitting tract development, auxin-mediated signaling, and cell wall organization, and redundantly define stigma morphology and the pollen tube extension path. This ensures female fertility and carpel fusion in cucumber.
Article
Plant Sciences
Juliana Hanna Leite El Ottra, Gladys Flavia de Albuquerque Melo-de-Pinna, Diego Demarco, Jose Rubens Pirani, Louis P. Ronse De Craene
Summary: Sapindales is a monophyletic order within the malvid clade of rosids. This review provides a detailed overview of gynoecium features and presents a new structural study based on Trichilia pallens to support systematic relationships and identify patterns of variations in gynoecium features in Sapindales. Several unique and shared characteristics are identified, and a new terminology regarding fusion is proposed to describe the gynoecium of the order.
JOURNAL OF PLANT RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Andrea Gomez-Felipe, Daniel Kierzkowski, Stefan de Folter
Summary: Gynoecium development in Arabidopsis thaliana is dependent on gene regulation and hormonal pathway interactions, particularly involving the phytohormones auxin and cytokinin. The MADS-box transcription factor AGAMOUS (AG) plays a crucial role in the development of reproductive structures, with cytokinin inducing carpeloid features in an AG-dependent manner. This study highlights a gene regulatory network where cytokinin signaling is mainly upstream and parallel with AG activity.
Review
Plant Sciences
Dmitry D. Sokoloff, Constantin Fomichev, Paula J. Rudall, Terry D. Macfarlane, Margarita Remizowa
Summary: The morphological interpretation of grass gynoecium remains controversial, with recent analyses indicating it is pseudomonomerous. Studies on grass developmental genetics and morphology have not fully demonstrated the composite nature of the gynoecium due to its complex evolutionary history being hidden by extreme organ integration.
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Ayaka Yabe, Shuh-ichi Nishikawa
Summary: Nuclear fusion is essential for sexual reproduction in various organisms, including angiosperms. In this study, the researchers found that the expression of GEX1 orthologs rescued the nuclear fusion defects in mutant plants, indicating functional conservation between Arabidopsis and O. sativa GEX1 orthologs, despite their relatively low sequence identities.
Review
Plant Sciences
Xiujuan Yang, Matthew R. Tucker
Summary: The plant ovule is a crucial organ that directly leads to seed formation, with its number and flower fertility being significant factors influencing yield. Studies have shown challenges in increasing one without compromising the other. Recent findings highlight regulatory pathways in Arabidopsis and cereal crops that could help overcome this yield constraint by targeting hormones and transcriptional regulators in the optimization of reproductive traits.
CURRENT OPINION IN PLANT BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Kimmo Kivivirta, Denise Herbert, Clemens Roessner, Stefan de Folter, Nayelli Marsch-Martinez, Annette Becker
Summary: The gynoecium, formed by flowering plants, is a complex organ regulated by multiple genes. This study characterizes gene expression changes in different developmental stages of Arabidopsis gynoecium, providing insights into global expression dynamics and the interactome. Analysis reveals early and late-acting gene groups, connections between transcriptional regulators, protein interactions, and metabolic processes, contributing to a dynamic network model for gynoecium development.
Article
Plant Sciences
Yujie Zhao, Yuying Wang, Ming Yan, Cuiyu Liu, Zhaohe Yuan
Summary: Pomegranate flowers have bisexual and functional male flowers, with sterile pistils in functional male flowers. Previous studies have identified specific genes expressed in bisexual and functional male flowers, but the functions of ovule identity genes and the mechanism of ovule sterility in pomegranate were unknown. This study found that the integument primordia of functional male flowers ceased developing, while megaspore mother cells were observed in bisexual flowers. PgCRC and PgINO genes were found to interact with PgBEL1, and their overexpression increased seed number. These findings provide insights into the genetic regulatory networks of ovule development in pomegranate.
Article
Plant Sciences
Lynne Hagelthorn, Mona M. Monfared, Anthony Talo, Frank G. Harmon, Jennifer C. Fletcher
Summary: Plants generate their reproductive organs, the stamens and the carpels, de novo within the flowers that form when the plant reaches maturity. ULTRAPETALA1 (ULT1) and KANADI1 (KAN1) are two proteins that cooperatively regulate Arabidopsis thaliana gynoecium patterning. Through transcriptomics, 278 genes in developing flowers were identified as being regulated by ULT1, KAN1, or both. These genes include those involved in developmental processes, reproductive processes, and biotic or abiotic stress responses. Additionally, a subset of these genes is specifically expressed in the developing gynoecium or stamens. This study reveals the potential cooperative role of ULT1 and KAN1 in male and female reproductive development.
Editorial Material
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Samuel C. Zeeman, Erik M. Solhaug
Summary: Starch metabolism is important for plant growth, but blocking its biosynthesis has species-specific effects.
Article
Plant Sciences
Liang Zhang, Jingwen Ma, Huan Liu, Qian Yi, Yanan Wang, Jingjing Xing, Peipei Zhang, Shengdong Ji, Mingjun Li, Jingyuan Li, Jinbo Shen, Jinxing Lin
Summary: The R-SNAREs VAMP721 and VAMP722 in Arabidopsis are found to play crucial roles in intracellular trafficking, affecting auxin distribution and plant growth by regulating the polar localization of auxin transporters.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Toshiaki Tameshige, Satoshi Okamoto, Jin Suk Lee, Mitsuhiro Aida, Masao Tasaka, Keiko U. Torii, Naoyuki Uchida
Review
Developmental Biology
David R. Smyth
Editorial Material
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
David R. Smyth
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Yoshiyuki Fujita, Takao Koeduka, Mitsuhiro Aida, Hideyuki Suzuki, Yoko Iijima, Kenji Matsui
PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2017)
Article
Plant Sciences
Tezz Quon, Edwin R. Lampugnani, David R. Smyth
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2017)
Article
Developmental Biology
Simon Scofield, Alexander Murison, Angharad Jones, John Fozard, Mitsuhiro Aida, Leah R. Band, Malcolm Bennett, James A. H. Murray
Review
Plant Sciences
David R. Smyth
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Hiroya Ishihara, Kaoru Sugimoto, Paul T. Tarr, Haruka Temman, Satoshi Kadokura, Yayoi Inui, Takuya Sakamoto, Taku Sasaki, Mitsuhiro Aida, Takamasa Suzuki, Soichi Inagaki, Kengo Morohashi, Motoaki Seki, Tetsuji Kakutani, Elliot M. Meyerowitz, Sachihiro Matsunaga
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2019)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Mitsuhiro Aida, Yuka Tsubakimoto, Satoko Shimizu, Hiroyuki Ogisu, Masako Kamiya, Ryosuke Iwamoto, Seiji Takeda, Md Rezaul Karim, Masaharu Mizutani, Michael Lenhard, Masao Tasaka
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2020)
Article
Plant Sciences
Ayame Imoto, Mizuki Yamada, Takumi Sakamoto, Airi Okuyama, Takashi Ishida, Shinichiro Sawa, Mitsuhiro Aida
Summary: The ClearSee tissue clearing method is reliable for studying embryo morphology and gene expression patterns in Arabidopsis thaliana, enabling high-quality 3D imaging with cellular resolution.
Article
Cell Biology
Aika Yokoi, Mitsuhiro Aida
Article
Plant Sciences
Yoshihisa Ikeda, David Zalabak, Ivona Kubalova, Michaela Kralova, Wolfram G. Brenner, Mitsuhiro Aida
Summary: Cytokinins play a significant role in promoting chloroplast differentiation, regulating cell differentiation, and working in synergy with other plant hormones to promote the formation of new tissues. The communication between the nucleus and chloroplasts through gene expression is key to understanding how cytokinins coordinate diverse cellular processes.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2021)
Editorial Material
Cell Biology
Ayana Takahama, Mitsuhiro Aida
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Rina Fujihara, Naoyuki Uchida, Toshiaki Tameshige, Nozomi Kawamoto, Yugo Hotokezaka, Takumi Higaki, Rudiger Simon, Keiko U. Torii, Masao Tasaka, Mitsuhiro Aida
Summary: EPFL2 plays a crucial role in Arabidopsis embryogenesis, with its loss leading to reduced cotyledon growth associated with decreased auxin response peaks. The recovery of mutant phenotype in germinating seedlings suggests redundancy with another factor in promoting cotyledon growth. The boundary domain between cotyledon primordia acts as a signaling center organizing auxin response peaks and promoting cotyledon growth.
PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Genetics & Heredity
David R. Smyth
Summary: In the late 1980s, geneticists began using chemical mutagens to induce random mutations in seeds and screen for plants with defective flower development. The study conducted at Caltech and Monash University focused on Arabidopsis thaliana mutants and identified genes controlling flower organ identity, meristem identity, organ development, and meristem properties. These findings have contributed to our understanding of transcriptional control, signaling, and the role of auxin in initiating flower development.