The Half-Size ABC Transporter FOLDED PETALS 2/ABCG13 Is Involved in Petal Elongation through Narrow Spaces in Arabidopsis thaliana Floral Buds

Plants

Seiji Takeda¹  Akira Iwasaki²  Kiyoshi Tatematsu² 

[1] Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Kyoto Prefectural University, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8522, Japan;Laboratory of Plant Organ Development, National Institute for Basic Biology, Okazaki, Aichi 444-8585, Japan; E-Mails:

关键词: Arabidopsis thaliana;    floral organs;    folded petals;    petal elongation;    ABC transporter;    ABCG13;   

DOI  :  10.3390/plants3030348

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Flowers are vital for attracting pollinators to plants and in horticulture for humans. Petal morphogenesis is a central process of floral development. Petal development can be divided into three main processes: the establishment of organ identity in a concentric pattern, primordia initiation at fixed positions within a whorl, and morphogenesis, which includes petal elongation through the narrow spaces within the bud. Here, we show that the FOLDED PETALS 2 (FOP2) gene, encoding a member of the half-size ATP binding cassette (ABC) transporter family ABCG13, is involved in straight elongation of petals in Arabidopsis thaliana. In fop2 mutants, flowers open with folded petals, instead of straight-elongated ones found in the wild type. The epicuticular nanoridge structures are absent in many abaxial epidermal cells of fop2 petals, and surgical or genetic generation of space in young fop2 buds restores the straight elongation of petals, suggesting that the physical contact of sepals and petals causes the petal folding. Similar petal folding has been reported in the fop1 mutant, and the petals of fop2 fop1 double mutants resemble those of both the fop1 and fop2 single mutants, although the epidermal structure and permeability of the petal surface is more affected in fop2. Our results suggest that synthesis and transport of cutin or wax in growing petals play an important role for their smooth elongation through the narrow spaces of floral buds.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2014 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.