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Zeatin accumulation and misexpression of a class I knox gene are intimately linked in the epiphyllous response of the interspecific hybrid EMB-2 (Helianthus annuus × H. tuberosus)

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Abstract

Epiphylly, occurring in a somaclonal variant (EMB-2) of the interspecific hybrid Helianthus annuus × H. tuberosus, was used to investigate molecular and cyto-physiological mechanisms that underlie cellular fate change. EMB-2 plants are characterized by profuse proliferation of shoot- and embryo-like structures on some leaves. We addressed the putative relationship between cytokinins and knox genes in EMB-2 plants. A class I knox gene, HtKNOT1, was isolated from H. tuberosus. A high level of HtKNOT1 transcripts was detected in EMB-2 epiphyllous leaves compared to non-epiphyllous (NEP) ones. In addition, epiphylly was related to a localized increases in zeatin and N-glycosylated cytokinins. As ectopic morphogenesis proceeded, HtKNOT1 transcripts and zeatin co-localized and showed different patterns in ectopic shoot compared with embryo-like structures, consistent with the differential role of both cytokinin and knox genes in the two morphogenetic events. Notably, a massive shoot/embryo regeneration was induced in EMB-2 NEP leaves by in vitro zeatin treatment. These results clearly indicate that localized cytokinin accumulation and ectopic expression of HtKNOT1 are closely linked in the epiphylly of EMB-2 plants.

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Abbreviations

EP:

Epiphyllous leaves

HtKNOT1 :

Helianthus tuberosus knotted1-like gene

NEP:

Non-epiphyllous leaves

SAM:

Shoot apical meristem

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by grants from PRIN 2004 and from Scuola Normale Superiore to M. Salvini.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Ecologia, Università della Calabria, Arcavacata di Rende, 87030, Cosenza, Italy

    Adriana Chiappetta, Leonardo Bruno, Maria Petrarulo & Maria Beatrice Bitonti

  2. Dipartimento di Biologia delle Piante Agrarie, Università di Pisa, Sezione di Genetica, Via Matteotti 1B, 56124, Pisa, Italy

    Vania Michelotti, Marco Fambrini, Mariangela Salvini & Claudio Pugliesi

  3. Scuola Normale Superiore, Piazza dei Cavalieri 7, 56124, Pisa, Italy

    Mariangela Salvini

  4. Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, 2610, Antwerp, Belgium

    Abdelkrim Azmi & Harry Van Onckelen

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  1. Adriana Chiappetta
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  2. Vania Michelotti
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Correspondence to Maria Beatrice Bitonti.

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Chiappetta, A., Michelotti, V., Fambrini, M. et al. Zeatin accumulation and misexpression of a class I knox gene are intimately linked in the epiphyllous response of the interspecific hybrid EMB-2 (Helianthus annuus × H. tuberosus). Planta 223, 917–931 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-005-0150-7

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