scholarly journals Vegetative Phase Change Causes Age-Dependent Changes in Phenotypic Plasticity

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erica H Lawrence ◽  
R. Scott Poethig ◽  
Jesse Lasky
Keyword(s):  
Phenotypic Plasticity ◽  
Phase Change ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Vegetative Development ◽  
Developmental Transitions ◽  
Vegetative Phase ◽  
Vegetative Phase Change ◽  
Age Dependent ◽  
Model Plant Arabidopsis Thaliana ◽  
Mutant Lines

Phenotypic plasticity allows organisms to optimize traits for their environment. As organisms age, they experience diverse environments that merit varying degrees of phenotypic plasticity. Developmental transitions can control these age-dependent changes in plasticity and as such, the timing of these transitions can determine when plasticity changes in an organism. Here we investigate how the transition from juvenile-to adult-vegetative development known as vegetative phase change (VPC) contributes to age-dependent changes in phenotypic plasticity using both natural accessions and mutant lines in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. Further, we look at how the timing of this transition and the concordant shifts in plasticity change across accessions and environments. We found that the adult phase of vegetative development has greater plasticity than the juvenile phase and confirmed that this difference in plasticity is caused by VPC using mutant lines. Further, we found that the timing of VPC, and therefore the time when increased plasticity is acquired, varies significantly across genotypes and environments. This genetic and environmental variation in the timing of VPC indicates the potential for population-level adaptive evolution of VPC. The consistent age-dependent changes in plasticity caused by VPC add further support to the hypothesis that VPC is adaptive.

scholarly journals VAL genes regulate vegetative phase change via miR156-dependent and independent mechanisms

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jim P. Fouracre ◽  
Jia He ◽  
Victoria J. Chen ◽  
Simone Sidoli ◽  
R. Scott Poethig
Keyword(s):  
Transcription Factors ◽  
Phase Change ◽  
Temporal Dynamics ◽  
Epigenetic Silencing ◽  
Developmental Transitions ◽  
Vegetative Phase ◽  
Vegetative Phase Change ◽  
Adult Growth ◽  
Epigenetic Repression ◽  
Polycomb Repressive Complex 1

SummaryHow organisms control when to transition between different stages of development is a key question in biology. In plants, epigenetic silencing by Polycomb repressive complex 1 (PRC1) and PRC2 plays a crucial role in promoting developmental transitions, including from juvenile-to-adult phases of vegetative growth. It is well established that PRC1/2 repress the master regulator of vegetative phase change, miR156, leading to the transition to adult growth, but how this process in temporally regulated is unknown. Here we investigate whether transcription factors in the VIVIPAROUS/ABI3-LIKE (VAL) gene family provide the temporal signal for the epigenetic repression of miR156. Exploiting a novel val1 allele, we found that VAL1 and VAL2 redundantly regulate vegetative phase change by controlling the overall level, rather than temporal dynamics, of miR156 expression. Furthermore, we discovered that VAL1 and VAL2 also act independently of miR156 to control this important developmental transition.

scholarly journals Juvenile Leaves or Adult Leaves: Determinants for Vegetative Phase Change in Flowering Plants

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (24) ◽  
pp. 9753
Author(s):  
Darren Manuela ◽  
Mingli Xu
Keyword(s):  
Phase Transition ◽  
Phase Change ◽  
Stress Responses ◽  
Leaf Shape ◽  
Vegetative Development ◽  
Vegetative Phase ◽  
Vegetative Phase Change ◽  
Squamosa Promoter Binding Protein ◽  
Adult Phase ◽  
Complex Regulation

Vegetative leaves in Arabidopsis are classified as either juvenile leaves or adult leaves based on their specific traits, such as leaf shape and the presence of abaxial trichomes. The timing of the juvenile-to-adult phase transition during vegetative development, called the vegetative phase change, is a critical decision for plants, as this transition is associated with crop yield, stress responses, and immune responses. Juvenile leaves are characterized by high levels of miR156/157, and adult leaves are characterized by high levels of miR156/157 targets, SQUAMOSA PROMOTER BINDING PROTEIN-LIKE (SPL) transcription factors. The discovery of this miR156/157-SPL module provided a critical tool for elucidating the complex regulation of the juvenile-to-adult phase transition in plants. In this review, we discuss how the traits of juvenile leaves and adult leaves are determined by the miR156/157-SPL module and how different factors, including embryonic regulators, sugar, meristem regulators, hormones, and epigenetic proteins are involved in controlling the juvenile-to-adult phase transition, focusing on recent insights into vegetative phase change. We also highlight outstanding questions in the field that need further investigation. Understanding how vegetative phase change is regulated would provide a basis for manipulating agricultural traits under various conditions.

scholarly journals Vegetative phase change in Populus tremula x alba

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erica H. Lawrence ◽  
Aaron R. Leichty ◽  
Cathleen Ma ◽  
Steven H. Strauss ◽  
R. Scott Poethig
Keyword(s):  
Phase Change ◽  
Populus Tremula ◽  
Quaking Aspen ◽  
List Type ◽  
Developmental Morphology ◽  
Vegetative Development ◽  
Vegetative Phase ◽  
Vegetative Phase Change

SummaryPlants transition through juvenile and adult phases of vegetative development in a process known as vegetative phase change (VPC). In poplars (genus Populus) the differences between these stages are subtle, making it difficult to determine when this transition occurs. Previous studies of VPC in poplars have relied on plants propagated in vitro, so the normal nature of this process is still unknown.We examined developmental morphology of seed-grown and in vitro derived Populus tremula x alba (clone 717-1B4), and compared the phenotype of these, to plants over- and under-expressing miR156, the master regulator of VPC.In seed-grown plants, most traits changed from node-to-node during the first 3 months of development but remained relatively constant starting around node 25. Most of these traits remained unchanged in clones over-expressing miR156, demonstrating they are regulated by the miR156/SPL pathway. Leaf fluttering--a characteristic of Populus tremula (“quaking aspen”)--is one of these miR156-regulated traits.Vegetative development in plants grown from culture mirrored that of seed-grown plants, allowing direct comparison between plants often used in research and those found in nature. These results provide a foundation for further research on the role of VPC in the ecology and evolution of this economically important genus.

scholarly journals VAL genes regulate vegetative phase change via miR156-dependent and independent mechanisms

PLoS Genetics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (6) ◽  
pp. e1009626
Author(s):  
Jim P. Fouracre ◽  
Jia He ◽  
Victoria J. Chen ◽  
Simone Sidoli ◽  
R. Scott Poethig
Keyword(s):  
Phase Change ◽  
Temporal Dynamics ◽  
Epigenetic Silencing ◽  
Developmental Transitions ◽  
Vegetative Phase ◽  
Temporal Regulation ◽  
Vegetative Phase Change ◽  
Adult Growth ◽  
Epigenetic Repression ◽  
Polycomb Repressive Complex 1

How organisms control when to transition between different stages of development is a key question in biology. In plants, epigenetic silencing by Polycomb repressive complex 1 (PRC1) and PRC2 plays a crucial role in promoting developmental transitions, including from juvenile-to-adult phases of vegetative growth. PRC1/2 are known to repress the master regulator of vegetative phase change, miR156, leading to the transition to adult growth, but how this process is regulated temporally is unknown. Here we investigate whether transcription factors in the VIVIPAROUS/ABI3-LIKE (VAL) gene family provide the temporal signal for the epigenetic repression of miR156. Exploiting a novel val1 allele, we found that VAL1 and VAL2 redundantly regulate vegetative phase change by controlling the overall level, rather than temporal dynamics, of miR156 expression. Furthermore, we discovered that VAL1 and VAL2 also act independently of miR156 to control this important developmental transition. In combination, our results highlight the complexity of temporal regulation in plants.

scholarly journals Sugar promotes vegetative phase change in Arabidopsis thaliana by repressing the expression of MIR156A and MIR156C

eLife ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Li Yang ◽  
Mingli Xu ◽  
Yeonjong Koo ◽  
Jia He ◽  
R Scott Poethig
Keyword(s):  
Arabidopsis Thaliana ◽  
Phase Change ◽  
Nutrient Availability ◽  
Developmental Timing ◽  
Vegetative Phase ◽  
Adult Transition ◽  
Vegetative Phase Change ◽  
Exogenous Glucose ◽  
Exogenous Sugar ◽  
Signaling Activity

Nutrients shape the growth, maturation, and aging of plants and animals. In plants, the juvenile to adult transition (vegetative phase change) is initiated by a decrease in miR156. In Arabidopsis, we found that exogenous sugar decreased the abundance of miR156, whereas reduced photosynthesis increased the level of this miRNA. This effect was correlated with a change in the timing of vegetative phase change, and was primarily attributable to a change in the expression of two genes, MIR156A and MIR156C, which were found to play dominant roles in this transition. The glucose-induced repression of miR156 was dependent on the signaling activity of HEXOKINASE1. We also show that the defoliation-induced increase in miR156 levels can be suppressed by exogenous glucose. These results provide a molecular link between nutrient availability and developmental timing in plants, and suggest that sugar is a component of the leaf signal that mediates vegetative phase change.

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