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An exploration of LEAFY expression in independent evolutionary origins of rosette flowering in Brassicaceae¹

Department of Botany, University of Wisconsin, 430 Lincoln Drive, Madison, Wisconsin 53706 USA

ABSTRACT

Whereas most Brassicaceae produce flowers on an elongated inflorescence, a few lineages produce flowers directly from the vegetative rosette on elongated pedicels. Knowing the extent to which independent origins of rosette flowering involve the same developmental and genetic mechanisms could clarify the constraints acting on plant architectural evolution. Prior work in Idahoa, Ionopsidium, and Leavenworthia suggested that changes in the activity or expression of the flower meristem identity gene, LEAFY (LFY), played a role in all three origins of rosette flowering. Here we studied the developmental morphology of L. crassa and immunolocalization of LFY protein in Leavenworthia and Ionopsidium to further compare independent origins of rosette flowering. Leavenworthia crassa differs from Ionopsidium and Idahoa in producing ebracteate flowers. Flowers are, however, associated with "squamules," here interpreted as stipules of a cryptic bract. LFY was detected in L. crassa flower primordia but not in inflorescence meristems. In contrast, the rosette flowering Io. acaule accumulated LFY protein in the inflorescence meristem, whereas its inflorescence-flowering close relative, Io. prolongoi, did not. Thus, although different cases of rosette flowering likely entailed modifications of the same meristem identity program, distinct developmental genetic mechanisms appear to be involved in each case.

Key Words: Arabidopsis • Brassicaceae • cryptic bract • evolutionary developmental genetics (evo-devo) • inflorescence • Ionopsidium • LEAFY/FLORICAULA • Leavenworthia

Received for publication 19 June 2007. Accepted for publication 24 January 2008.

FOOTNOTES

¹ The authors would like to thank D. Weigel and J. Lohmann for the generous donation of anti-LFY antibody; E. Spalding, G. Prenner, and the UW-Madison Plant Imaging Center for SEM assistance; M. Otegui and I. Cacho for help with immunolocalization methods; K. Elliot for help with figures; and N. Van Abel and C. Barnes for laboratory assistance. I. Al-Shehbaz provided valued guidance, and two anonymous reviewers and the associate editor gave helpful input. Funding was provided by the National Science Foundation (IOB-0234118) and a UW-Madison Hilldale Undergraduate/Faculty Research Fellowship.

² Present address: Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California–San Francisco, 1550 Fourth St., San Francisco CA 94158-2324 USA

³ Present address: Division of Applied Plant Sciences, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 200-701, South Korea

⁴ Present address: Department of Biology, Denison University, 350 Ridge Rd., Granville OH 43023 USA

⁵ Author for correspondence (e-mail: dbaum{at}wisc.edu)

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