The ULTRAPETALA gene controls shoot and floral meristem size in Arabidopsis

Development ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 128 (8) ◽  
pp. 1323-1333 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.C. Fletcher
Keyword(s):  
Signal Transduction Pathway ◽  
Floral Meristem ◽  
Transduction Pathway ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Inflorescence Meristem ◽  
Genetic Studies ◽  
Meristem Cell ◽  
Meristem Size ◽  
Cell Accumulation ◽  
Floral Meristems

The regulation of proper shoot and floral meristem size during plant development is mediated by a complex interaction of stem cell promoting and restricting factors. The phenotypic effects of mutations in the ULTRAPETALA gene, which is required to control shoot and floral meristem cell accumulation in Arabidopsis thaliana, are described. ultrapetala flowers contain more floral organs and whorls than wild-type plants, phenotypes that correlate with an increase in floral meristem size preceding organ initiation. ultrapetala plants also produce more floral meristems than wild-type plants, correlating with an increase in inflorescence meristem size without visible fasciation. Expression analysis indicates that ULTRAPETALA controls meristem cell accumulation partly by limiting the domain of CLAVATA1 expression. Genetic studies show that ULTRAPETALA acts independently of ERA1, but has overlapping functions with PERIANTHIA and the CLAVATA signal transduction pathway in controlling shoot and floral meristem size and meristem determinacy. Thus ULTRAPETALA defines a novel locus that restricts meristem cell accumulation in Arabidopsis shoot and floral meristems.

scholarly journals The WIGGUM gene is required for proper regulation of floral meristem size in Arabidopsis

Development ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 125 (14) ◽  
pp. 2545-2553 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.P. Running ◽  
J.C. Fletcher ◽  
E.M. Meyerowitz
Keyword(s):  
Cell Division ◽  
Apical Meristem ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Floral Meristem ◽  
Similar Process ◽  
Genetic Studies ◽  
Meristem Size ◽  
Separate Pathway ◽  
Mutant Phenotypes ◽  
Floral Meristems

The study of cell division control within developing tissues is central to understanding the processes of pattern formation. The floral meristem of angiosperms gives rise to floral organs in a particular number and pattern. Despite its critical role, little is known about how cell division is controlled in the floral meristem, and few genes involved have been identified. We describe the phenotypic effects of mutations in WIGGUM, a gene required for control of cell proliferation in the floral and apical meristem of Arabidopsis thaliana. wiggum flowers contain more organs, especially sepals and petals, than found in wild-type flowers. This organ number phenotype correlates with specific size changes in the early floral meristem, preceding organ initiation. Genetic studies suggest that WIGGUM acts on a similar process but in a separate pathway than the CLAVATA1 and CLAVATA3 genes in meristem size regulation, and reveal interactions with other genes affecting meristem structure and identity. Analysis of double mutant phenotypes also reveals a role for WIGGUM in apical meristem function. We propose that WIGGUM plays a role in restricting cell division relative to cellular differentiation in specific regions of the apical and floral meristems.

scholarly journals Mating in Saccharomyces cerevisiae: The Role of the Pheromone Signal Transduction Pathway in the Chemotropic Response to Pheromone

Genetics ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 147 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathrin Schrick ◽  
Barbara Garvik ◽  
Leland H Hartwell
Keyword(s):  
Signal Transduction ◽  
Map Kinase ◽  
Transcriptional Activation ◽  
Signal Transduction Pathway ◽  
Transduction Pathway ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Mating Partner ◽  
Map Kinase Cascade ◽  
Kinase Cascade ◽  
Wild Type Control

Abstract The mating process in yeast has two distinct aspects. One is the induction and activation of proteins required for cell fusion in response to a pheromone signal; the other is chemotropism, i.e., detection of a pheromone gradient and construction of a fusion site available to the signaling cell. To determine whether components of the signal transduction pathway necessary for transcriptional activation also play a role in chemotropism, we examined strains with null mutations in components of the signal transduction pathway for diploid formation, prezygote formation and the chemotropic process of mating partner discrimination when transcription was induced downstream of the mutation. Cells mutant for components of the mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase cascade (ste5, ste20, ste11, ste7 or fus3 kss1) formed diploids at a frequency 1% that of the wild-type control, but formed prezygotes as efficiently as the wild-type control and showed good mating partner discrimination, suggesting that the MAP kinase cascade is not essential for chemotropism. In contrast, cells mutant for the receptor (ste2) or the β or γ subunit (ste4 and stel8) of the G protein were extremely defective in both diploid and prezygote formation and discriminated poorly between signaling and nonsignaling mating partners, implying that these components are important for chemotropism.

scholarly journals Flagellar Radial Spokes Contain a Ca2+-stimulated Nucleoside Diphosphate Kinase

2004 ◽  
Vol 15 (8) ◽  
pp. 3891-3902 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramila S. Patel-King ◽  
Oksana Gorbatyuk ◽  
Sachiko Takebe ◽  
Stephen M. King
Keyword(s):  
Regulatory Mechanism ◽  
Signal Transduction Pathway ◽  
Nucleoside Diphosphate Kinase ◽  
Terminal Segment ◽  
Transduction Pathway ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Repetitive Region ◽  
Independent Manner ◽  
Calmodulin Binding ◽  
Radial Spokes

The radial spokes are required for Ca2+-initiated intraflagellar signaling, resulting in modulation of inner and outer arm dynein activity. However, the mechanochemical properties of this signaling pathway remain unknown. Here, we describe a novel nucleoside diphosphate kinase (NDK) from the Chlamydomonas flagellum. This protein (termed p61 or RSP23) consists of an N-terminal catalytic NDK domain followed by a repetitive region that includes three IQ motifs and a highly acidic C-terminal segment. We find that p61 is missing in axonemes derived from the mutants pf14 (lacks radial spokes) and pf24 (lacks the spoke head and several stalk components) but not in those from pf17 (lacking only the spoke head). The p61 protein can be extracted from oda1 (lacks outer dynein arms) and pf17 axonemes with 0.5 M KI, and copurifies with radial spokes in sucrose density gradients. Furthermore, p61 contains two classes of calmodulin binding site: IQ1 interacts with calmodulin-Sepharose beads in a Ca2+-independent manner, whereas IQ2 and IQ3 show Ca2+-sensitive associations. Wild-type axonemes exhibit two distinct NDKase activities, at least one of which is stimulated by Ca2+. This Ca2+-responsive enzyme, which accounts for ∼45% of total axonemal NDKase, is missing from pf14 axonemes. We found that purified radial spokes also exhibit NDKase activity. Thus, we conclude that p61 is an integral component of the radial spoke stalk that binds calmodulin and exhibits Ca2+-controlled NDKase activity. These observations suggest that nucleotides other than ATP may play an important role in the signal transduction pathway that underlies the regulatory mechanism defined by the radial spokes.

scholarly journals Function of a Chemotaxis-Like Signal Transduction Pathway in Modulating Motility, Cell Clumping, and Cell Length in the Alphaproteobacterium Azospirillum brasilense

2008 ◽  
Vol 190 (19) ◽  
pp. 6365-6375 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amber N. Bible ◽  
Bonnie B. Stephens ◽  
Davi R. Ortega ◽  
Zhihong Xie ◽  
Gladys Alexandre
Keyword(s):  
Signal Transduction ◽  
Signal Transduction Pathway ◽  
Cell Aggregation ◽  
Cell Length ◽  
Transduction Pathway ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Cellular Functions ◽  
Swimming Pattern ◽  
A Minor ◽  
Nutritional Imbalance

ABSTRACT A chemotaxis signal transduction pathway (hereafter called Che1) has been previously identified in the alphaproteobacterium Azospirillum brasilense. Previous experiments have demonstrated that although mutants lacking CheB and/or CheR homologs from this pathway are defective in chemotaxis, a mutant in which the entire chemotaxis pathway has been mutated displayed a chemotaxis phenotype mostly similar to that of the parent strain, suggesting that the primary function of this Che1 pathway is not the control of motility behavior. Here, we report that mutants carrying defined mutations in the cheA1 (strain AB101) and the cheY1 (strain AB102) genes and a newly constructed mutant lacking the entire operon [Δ(cheA1-cheR1)::Cm] (strain AB103) were defective, but not null, for chemotaxis and aerotaxis and had a minor defect in swimming pattern. We found that mutations in genes of the Che1 pathway affected the cell length of actively growing cells but not their growth rate. Cells of a mutant lacking functional cheB1 and cheR1 genes (strain BS104) were significantly longer than wild-type cells, whereas cells of mutants impaired in the cheA1 or cheY1 genes, as well as a mutant lacking a functional Che1 pathway, were significantly shorter than wild-type cells. Both the modest chemotaxis defects and the observed differences in cell length could be complemented by expressing the wild-type genes from a plasmid. In addition, under conditions of high aeration, cells of mutants lacking functional cheA1 or cheY1 genes or the Che1 operon formed clumps due to cell-to-cell aggregation, whereas the mutant lacking functional CheB1 and CheR1 (BS104) clumped poorly, if at all. Further analysis suggested that the nature of the exopolysaccharide produced, rather than the amount, may be involved in this behavior. Interestingly, mutants that displayed clumping behavior (lacking cheA1 or cheY1 genes or the Che1 operon) also flocculated earlier and quantitatively more than the wild-type cells, whereas the mutant lacking both CheB1 and CheR1 was delayed in flocculation. We propose that the Che1 chemotaxis-like pathway modulates the cell length as well as clumping behavior, suggesting a link between these two processes. Our data are consistent with a model in which the function of the Che1 pathway in regulating these cellular functions directly affects flocculation, a cellular differentiation process initiated under conditions of nutritional imbalance.

scholarly journals Ventralization of the Drosophila embryo by deletion of extracellular leucine-rich repeats in the Toll protein.

1995 ◽  
Vol 6 (5) ◽  
pp. 587-596 ◽  
Author(s):  
K A Winans ◽  
C Hashimoto
Keyword(s):  
Cell Fate ◽  
Transmembrane Protein ◽  
Signal Transduction Pathway ◽  
Extracellular Domain ◽  
Drosophila Embryo ◽  
Transduction Pathway ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Truncated Form ◽  
Biochemical Analyses ◽  
Leucine Rich Repeats

Dorsoventral polarity of the Drosophila embryo is established by a signal transduction pathway in which the maternal transmembrane protein Toll appears to function as the receptor for a ventrally localized extracellular ligand. Certain dominant Toll alleles encode proteins that behave as partially ligand-independent receptors, causing embryos containing these proteins to become ventralized. In extracts of embryos derived from mothers carrying these dominant alleles, we detected a polypeptide of approximately 35 kDa in addition to full-length Toll polypeptides with antibodies to Toll. Our biochemical analyses suggest that the smaller polypeptide is a truncated form of Toll lacking extracellular domain sequences. To assay the biological activity of such a shortened form of Toll, we synthesized RNA encoding a mutant polypeptide lacking the leucine-rich repeats that comprise most of Toll's extracellular domain and injected this RNA into embryos. The truncated Toll protein elicited the most ventral cell fate independently of the wild-type Toll protein and its ligand. These results support the view that Toll is a receptor whose extracellular domain regulates the intrinsic signaling activity of its cytoplasmic domain.

Distinct roles of PMCA isoforms in Ca2+ homeostasis of bladder smooth muscle: evidence from PMCA gene-ablated mice

2007 ◽  
Vol 292 (1) ◽  
pp. C423-C431 ◽  
Author(s):  
Li Liu ◽  
Yukisato Ishida ◽  
Gbolahan Okunade ◽  
Gail J. Pyne-Geithman ◽  
Gary E. Shull ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Signal Transduction ◽  
Smooth Muscle ◽  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Contractile Response ◽  
Signal Transduction Pathway ◽  
Transduction Pathway ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Bladder Smooth Muscle

We previously showed that plasma membrane Ca2+-ATPase (PMCA) activity accounted for 25–30% of relaxation in bladder smooth muscle ( 8 ). Among the four PMCA isoforms only PMCA1 and PMCA4 are expressed in smooth muscle. To address the role of these isoforms, we measured cytosolic Ca2+ ([Ca2+]i) using fura-PE3 and simultaneously measured contractility in bladder smooth muscle from wild-type (WT), Pmca1+/−, Pmca4+/−, Pmca4−/−, and Pmca1+/− Pmca4−/− mice. There were no differences in basal [Ca2+]i values between bladder preparations. KCl (80 mM) elicited both larger forces (150–190%) and increases in [Ca2+]i (130–180%) in smooth muscle from Pmca1+/− and Pmca1+/− Pmca4−/− bladders than those in WT or Pmca4−/−. The responses to carbachol (CCh: 10 μM) were also greater in Pmca1+/− (120–150%) than in WT bladders. In contrast, the responses in Pmca4−/− and Pmca1+/− Pmca4−/− bladders to CCh were significantly smaller (40–50%) than WT. The rise in half-times of force and [Ca2+]i increases in response to KCl and CCh, and the concomitant half-times of their decrease upon washout of agonist were prolonged in Pmca4−/− (130–190%) and Pmca1+/− Pmca4−/− (120–250%) bladders, but not in Pmca1+/− bladders with respect to WT. Our evidence indicates distinct isoform functions with the PMCA1 isoform involved in overall Ca2+ clearance, while PMCA4 is essential for the [Ca2+]i increase and contractile response to the CCh receptor-mediated signal transduction pathway.

scholarly journals The CLV3 Homolog in Setaria viridis Selectively Controls Inflorescence Meristem Size

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chuanmei Zhu ◽  
Lei Liu ◽  
Olivia Crowell ◽  
Hui Zhao ◽  
Thomas P. Brutnell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bioinformatic Analysis ◽  
Peptide Ligands ◽  
Setaria Viridis ◽  
Inflorescence Meristem ◽  
Inflorescence Development ◽  
Knock Out ◽  
Meristem Size ◽  
Cle Peptides ◽  
Vegetative Traits ◽  
Floral Meristems

The CLAVATA pathway controls meristem size during inflorescence development in both eudicots and grasses, and is initiated by peptide ligands encoded by CLV3/ESR-related (CLE) genes. While CLV3 controls all shoot meristems in Arabidopsis, evidence from cereal grasses indicates that different meristem types are regulated by different CLE peptides. The rice peptide FON2 primarily controls the size of the floral meristem, whereas the orthologous peptides CLE7 and CLE14 in maize have their most dramatic effects on inflorescence and branch meristems, hinting at diversification among CLE responses in the grasses. Setaria viridis is more closely related to maize than to rice, so can be used to test whether the maize CLE network can be generalized to all members of subfamily Panicoideae. We used CRISPR-Cas9 in S. viridis to knock out the SvFON2 gene, the closest homolog to CLV3 and FON2. Svfon2 mutants developed larger inflorescence meristems, as in maize, but had normal floral meristems, unlike Osfon2, suggesting a panicoid-specific CLE network. Vegetative traits such as plant height, tiller number and leaf number were not significantly different between mutant and wild type plants, but time to heading was shorter in the mutants. In situ hybridization showed strong expression of Svfon2 in the inflorescence and branch meristems, consistent with the mutant phenotype. Using bioinformatic analysis, we predicted the co-expression network of SvFON2 and its signaling components, which included genes known to control inflorescence architecture in maize as well as genes of unknown function. The similarity between SvFON2 function in Setaria and maize suggests that its developmental specialization in inflorescence meristem control may be shared among panicoid grasses.

scholarly journals Genetic control of branching pattern and floral identity during Petunia inflorescence development

Development ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 125 (4) ◽  
pp. 733-742 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Souer ◽  
A. van der Krol ◽  
D. Kloos ◽  
C. Spelt ◽  
M. Bliek ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
In Situ Hybridisation ◽  
Floral Meristem ◽  
Branching Pattern ◽  
Inflorescence Meristem ◽  
Inflorescence Architecture ◽  
Phenotypic Analysis ◽  
Inflorescence Development ◽  
Meristem Identity ◽  
Floral Meristems

A main determinant of inflorescence architecture is the site where floral meristems are initiated. We show that in wild-type Petunia bifurcation of the inflorescence meristem yields two meristems of approximately equal size. One terminates into a floral meristem and the other maintains its inflorescence identity. By random transposon mutagenesis we have generated two mutants in which the architecture of the inflorescence is altered. In the extra petals- (exp) mutant the inflorescence terminates with the formation of a single terminal flower. Phenotypic analysis showed that exp is required for the bifurcation of inflorescence meristems. In contrast, the aberrant leaf and flower- (alf) mutant is affected in the specification of floral meristem identity while the branching pattern of the inflorescence remains unaltered. A weak alf allele was identified that, after bifurcation of the inflorescence meristem, yields a ‘floral’ meristem with partial inflorescence characteristics. By analysing independent transposon dTph1 insertion alleles we show that the alf locus encodes the Petunia FLORICAULA/LEAFY homolog. In situ hybridisation shows that alf is expressed in the floral meristem and also in the vegetative meristem. Differences and similarities between these Petunia mutants and mutations affecting inflorescence architecture in other species will be discussed.

Kinetic analysis of a signal-transduction pathway by time-resolved somatic complementation of mutants.

1998 ◽  
Vol 201 (13) ◽  
pp. 1991-1999 ◽  
Author(s):  
C Starostzik ◽  
W Marwan
Keyword(s):  
Signal Transduction ◽  
Blue Light ◽  
Red Light ◽  
Signal Transduction Pathway ◽  
Intermediate Phenotype ◽  
Regulatory Function ◽  
Transduction Pathway ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Time Resolved ◽  
Small Change

Sensory control of sporulation in Physarum polycephalum plasmodia is mediated by a branched signal-transduction pathway that integrates blue light, far-red light, heat shock and the starvation state. Mutants defective in the pathway were isolated and three phenotypes obtained: blue-blind, general-blind and light-independent sporulating. When plasmodia of the blue-blind mutant Blu1 were exposed to a pulse of blue light and subsequently fused to non-induced wild-type plasmodia, the resulting heterokaryons sporulated, indicating a functional blue- light photoreceptor in the mutant. When the general-blind mutant Nos1 was fused to a wild-type plasmodium which had been induced by light, sporulation of the heterokaryon was blocked. However, the dominant inhibition of sporulation by Nos1 was gradually lost with increasing time between induction by light and time of fusion, suggesting that Nos1 can be bypassed by the time-dependent formation of a downstream signal-transduction intermediate. Phenotype expression in constitutively sporulating (Cos) mutants depended on starvation. The Cos2 product was titrated by fusing mutant plasmodia of different sizes to wild-type plasmodia of constant size and analysing the sporulation probability of the resulting heterokaryon. The titration curve indicates that a small change in the amount of Cos2 product can cause sporulation. We conclude that somatic complementation analysis allows the time-resolved evaluation of the regulatory function of mutations in a signal-transduction pathway without prior cloning of the gene. This shortcut allows us to characterize many mutants quickly and to select those for molecular analysis that display a well-defined regulatory function.

A role for the Drosophila Toll/Cactus pathway in larval hematopoiesis

Development ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 125 (10) ◽  
pp. 1909-1920 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Qiu ◽  
P.C. Pan ◽  
S. Govind
Keyword(s):  
Signal Transduction ◽  
Constitutive Expression ◽  
Signal Transduction Pathway ◽  
Lymph Gland ◽  
Transduction Pathway ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Drosophila Larva ◽  
Common Signal ◽  
Almost All

In the Drosophila larva, blood cells or hemocytes are formed in the lymph gland. The major blood cell type, called plasmatocyte, is small, non-adhesive and phagocytic. Plasmatocytes differentiate into adhesive lamellocytes to form multilayered capsules around foreign substances or, in mutant melanotic tumor strains, around self tissue. Mutations in cactus or Toll, or constitutive expression of dorsal can induce lamellocyte differentiation and cause the formation of melanotic capsules. As maternally encoded proteins, Toll, Cactus and Dorsal, along with Tube and Pelle, participate in a common signal transduction pathway to specify the embryonic dorsal-ventral axis. Using the maternal pathway as a paradigm, we investigated if these proteins have additional roles in larval hemocyte formation and differentiation. Analysis of cactus mutants that lack Cactus protein revealed that almost all of these animals have an overabundance of hemocytes, carry melanotic capsules and die before reaching pupal stages. In addition, the lymph glands of cactus larvae are considerably enlarged. The number of mitotic cells in the cactus and TollD hemolymph is higher than that in the wild-type hemolymph. The hemocyte density of mutant Toll, tube or pelle hemolymph is significantly lower than that of the wild type. Lethality of mutant cactus animals could be rescued either by the selective expression of wild-type Cactus protein in the larval lymph gland or by the introduction of mutations in Toll, tube or pelle. Cactus, Toll, Tube and Pelle proteins are expressed in the nascent hemocytes of the larval lymph gland. Our results suggest that the Toll/Cactus signal transduction pathway plays a significant role in regulating hemocyte proliferation and hemocyte density in the Drosophila larva. These findings are discussed in light of similar hematopoietic functions of Rel/I(kappa)B-family proteins in mice.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document