JOINTLESS Maintains Inflorescence Meristem Identity in Tomato.

[en] JOINTLESS (J) was isolated in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) from mutants lacking a flower pedicel abscission zone (AZ), and encodes a MADS-box protein of the SVP/AGL24 sub-family. The loss of J function also causes the return to leaf initiation in the inflorescences, indicating a pivotal role in inflorescence meristem identity. Here, we compared j mutants in different accessions that exhibit either an indeterminate shoot growth, producing regular sympodial segments, or a determinate shoot growth, due to the reduction of sympodial segments and causal mutation of the SELF PRUNING (SP) gene. We observed that the inflorescence phenotype of j mutants is stronger in indeterminate (SP) accessions such as Ailsa Craig (AC), than in determinate (sp) ones, such as Heinz (Hz). Moreover, RNA-seq analysis revealed that the return to vegetative fate in j mutants is accompanied by expression of SP, which supports conversion of the inflorescence meristem to sympodial shoot meristem in j inflorescences. Other markers of vegetative meristems such as APETALA2c, and branching genes such as BRANCHED 1 (BRC1a/b) were differentially expressed in the inflorescences of j(AC) mutants. We also found in the indeterminate AC accession that J represses homeotic genes of B- and C-classes, and that its overexpression causes an oversized leafy calyx phenotype and has a dominant negative effect on AZ formation. A model is therefore proposed where J, by repressing shoot fate and influencing reproductive organ formation, acts as a key determinant of inflorescence meristems.

Disciplines :

Phytobiology (plant sciences, forestry, mycology...)

Author, co-author :

Huerga-Fernández, Samuel ; Laboratory of Plant Physiology InBioS - PhytoSYSTEMS Department of Life Sciences University of Liège Chemin de la Vallée, 4 B-4000 Liège Belgium

Detry, Nathalie ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département des sciences de la vie

Orman-Ligeza, Beata ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département des sciences de la vie > Physiologie végétale

Bouché, Frédéric ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département des sciences de la vie > Physiologie végétale

Hanikenne, Marc ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Integrative Biological Sciences (InBioS)

Périlleux, Claire ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département des sciences de la vie > Physiologie végétale

Language :

English

Title :

JOINTLESS Maintains Inflorescence Meristem Identity in Tomato.

Publication date :

18 April 2024

Journal title :

Plant and Cell Physiology

ISSN :

0032-0781

eISSN :

1471-9053

Publisher :

Oxford University Press (OUP), Japan

Peer reviewed :

Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi

Additional URL :

https://academic.oup.com/pcp/advance-article-pdf/doi/10.1093/pcp/pcae046/57504120/pcae046.pdf

Funders :

FRIA - Fonds pour la Formation à la Recherche dans l'Industrie et dans l'Agriculture

Available on ORBi :

since 28 May 2024

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