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Evolution of genetic mechanisms controlling petal development

Nature volume 399, pages 144–148 (1999)Cite this article

Abstract

Molecular genetic studies in Arabidopsis thaliana and other higher-eudicot flowering plants have led to the development of the ‘ABC’ model of the determination of organ identity in flowers, in which three classes of gene, A, B and C, are thought to work together to determine organ identity1,2. According to this model, the B -class genes APETALA3 (AP3) and PISTILLATA (PI) act to specify petal and stamen identity. Here we test whether the roles of these genes are conserved throughout the angiosperms by analysing the expression of AP3 and PI orthologues in the lower eudicot subclass Ranunculidae. We show that, although expression of these orthologues in the stamens is conserved, the expression patterns in the petals differ from those found in the higher eudicots. The differences between these expression patterns suggest that the function of AP3 and PI homologues as B -class organ-identity genes is not rigidly conserved among all angiosperms. These observations have important implications for understanding the evolution of both angiosperm petals and the genetic mechanisms that control the identities of floral organs.

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Figure 1: Gene and species phylogenies.
Figure 2: RNA and antibody localization in the developing Pnudicaule flower bud.
Figure 3: Antibody localization in the developing D. eximia flower bud.
Figure 4: Northern blot analysis of Ranunculus species.

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Acknowledgements

We thank P. Jenik for antibody preparation, and I. Dawson, P. Jenik, T. Hill, C.Juarez, R. Lamb and Q. Tan for comments on the manuscript. This work was supported by grants from the NSF and USDA to V.F.I.

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  1. Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, Yale University, PO Box 208104, New Haven, 065208104, Connecticut, USA

    Elena M. Kramer & Vivian F. Irish

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Correspondence to Vivian F. Irish.

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Kramer, E., Irish, V. Evolution of genetic mechanisms controlling petal development. Nature 399, 144–148 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1038/20172

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