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Evolution and conserved functionality of organ size and shape regulator PEAPOD

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Transcriptional regulator PEAPOD (PPD) and its binding partners comprise a complex that is conserved throughout many core eudicot plants with regard to protein domain sequence and the function of controlling organ size and shape. Orthologues of PPD also exist in the basal angiosperm Amborella trichopoda, various gymnosperm species, the lycophyte Selaginella moellendorffii and several monocot genera, although until now it was not known if these are functional sequences. Here we report constitutive expression of orthologues from species representing diverse taxa of plant phylogeny in the Arabidopsis Δppd mutant. PPD orthologues from S. moellendorffii, gymnosperm Picea abies, A. trichopoda, monocot Musa acuminata, and dicot Trifolium repens were able to complement the mutant and return it to the wild-type phenotype, demonstrating the conserved functionality of PPD throughout vascular plants. In addition, analysis of bryophyte genomes revealed potential PPD orthologues in model liverwort and moss species, suggesting a more primitive lineage for this conserved regulator. The Poaceae (grasses) lack the genes for the PPD module and the reason for loss of the complex from this economically significant family is unclear, given that grasses were the last of the flowering plants to evolve. Bioinformatic analyses identified putative PPD orthologues in close relatives of the Poaceae, indicating that the explanation for absence of PPD in the grasses may be more complex than previously considered. Understanding the mechanisms which led to loss of PPD from the grasses will provide insight into evolution of the Poaceae.

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Rights statement

Copyright: © 2022 Cookson et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Language

  • English

Does this contain Māori information or data?

  • No

Publisher

PLOS

Journal title

PLoS One

ISSN

1932-6203

Citation

Cookson, R., Winichayakul, S., Xue, H., Richardson, K., Moraga, R., Laugraud, A., Biswas, A., Bryan, G., & Roberts, N. (2022). Evolution and conserved functionality of organ size and shape regulator PEAPOD. PLoS One, 17(2), e0263928. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0263928

Funder

Ministry of Business Innovation & Employment

Contract number

C10X0815

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