Evolution of the plant reproduction master regulators LFY and the MADS Transcription Factors: the role of protein structure in the evolutionary development of the flower

Frontiers in Plant Science

Martha eBrennich⁴  Sriharsha ePuranik⁴  Chloe eZubieta⁵  Agnès eJourdain⁵  Véronique eHugouvieux⁵  François eParcy⁵  Catarina S. Silva⁵  Adam eRound⁶ 

[1] CEA Grenoble;CNRS UMR 5168;European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Grenoble Outstation;European Synchrotron Radiation Facility;INRA;Keele University;Univ. Grenoble Alpes-EMBL-CNRS;Univ. Grenoble Alpes;

关键词: evolution;    Homology Modeling;    LEAFY;    Protein crystallography;    Small angle X-ray scattering;    AGAMOUS;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpls.2015.01193

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Understanding the evolutionary leap from non-flowering (gymnosperms) to flowering (angiosperms) plants and the origin and vast diversification of the floral form has been one of the focuses of plant evolutionary developmental biology. The evolving diversity and increasing complexity of organisms is often due to relatively small changes in genes that direct development. These developmental control genes and the transcription factors (TF) they encode, are at the origin of most morphological changes. TFs such as LEAFY (LFY) and the MADS-domain TFs act as central regulators in key developmental processes of plant reproduction including the floral transition in angiosperms and the specification of the male and female organs in both gymnosperms and angiosperms. In addition to advances in genome wide profiling and forward and reverse genetic screening, structural techniques are becoming important tools in unravelling TF function by providing atomic and molecular level information that was lacking in purely genetic approaches. Here we summarise previous structural work and present additional biophysical and biochemical studies of the key master regulators of plant reproduction – LEAFY and the MADS-domain TFs SEPALLATA3 and AGAMOUS. We discuss the impact of structural biology on our understanding of the complex evolutionary process leading to the development of the bisexual flower.

【 授权许可】

Unknown