Skip to main content
PMC home page
The Plant Cell logoLink to The Plant Cell
. 1997 Nov;9(11):2011–2024. doi: 10.1105/tpc.9.11.2011

EMF genes regulate Arabidopsis inflorescence development.

L Chen 1, J C Cheng 1, L Castle 1, Z R Sung 1
PMCID: PMC157054  PMID: 9401124

Abstract

Mutations in EMBRYONIC FLOWER (EMF) genes EMF1 and EMF2 abolish rosette development, and the mutants produce either a much reduced inflorescence or a transformed flower. These mutant characteristics suggest a repressive effect of EMF activities on reproductive development. To investigate the role of EMF genes in regulating reproductive development, we studied the relationship between EMF genes and the genes regulating inflorescence and flower development. We found that APETALA1 and AGAMOUS promoters were activated in germinating emf seedlings, suggesting that these genes may normally be suppressed in wild-type seedlings in which EMF activities are high. The phenotype of double mutants combining emf1-2 and apetala1, apetala2, leafy1, apetala1 cauliflower, and terminal flower1 showed that emf1-2 is epistatic in all cases, suggesting that EMF genes act downstream from these genes in mediating the inflorescence-to-flower transition. Constitutive expression of LEAFY in weak emf1, but not emf2, mutants increased the severity of the emf phenotype, indicating an inhibition of EMF activity by LEAFY, as was deduced from double mutant analysis. These results suggest that a mechanism involving a reciprocal negative regulation between the EMF genes and the floral genes regulates Arabidopsis inflorescence development.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (2.6 MB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Bowman J. L., Smyth D. R., Meyerowitz E. M. Genetic interactions among floral homeotic genes of Arabidopsis. Development. 1991 May;112(1):1–20. doi: 10.1242/dev.112.1.1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Bradley D., Ratcliffe O., Vincent C., Carpenter R., Coen E. Inflorescence commitment and architecture in Arabidopsis. Science. 1997 Jan 3;275(5296):80–83. doi: 10.1126/science.275.5296.80. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Drews G. N., Bowman J. L., Meyerowitz E. M. Negative regulation of the Arabidopsis homeotic gene AGAMOUS by the APETALA2 product. Cell. 1991 Jun 14;65(6):991–1002. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(91)90551-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Huala E., Sussex I. M. LEAFY Interacts with Floral Homeotic Genes to Regulate Arabidopsis Floral Development. Plant Cell. 1992 Aug;4(8):901–913. doi: 10.1105/tpc.4.8.901. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Irish V. F., Sussex I. M. Function of the apetala-1 gene during Arabidopsis floral development. Plant Cell. 1990 Aug;2(8):741–753. doi: 10.1105/tpc.2.8.741. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Jefferson R. A., Kavanagh T. A., Bevan M. W. GUS fusions: beta-glucuronidase as a sensitive and versatile gene fusion marker in higher plants. EMBO J. 1987 Dec 20;6(13):3901–3907. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1987.tb02730.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Jofuku K. D., den Boer B. G., Van Montagu M., Okamuro J. K. Control of Arabidopsis flower and seed development by the homeotic gene APETALA2. Plant Cell. 1994 Sep;6(9):1211–1225. doi: 10.1105/tpc.6.9.1211. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Koornneef M., Hanhart C. J., van der Veen J. H. A genetic and physiological analysis of late flowering mutants in Arabidopsis thaliana. Mol Gen Genet. 1991 Sep;229(1):57–66. doi: 10.1007/BF00264213. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Krizek B. A., Meyerowitz E. M. The Arabidopsis homeotic genes APETALA3 and PISTILLATA are sufficient to provide the B class organ identity function. Development. 1996 Jan;122(1):11–22. doi: 10.1242/dev.122.1.11. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Mandel M. A., Gustafson-Brown C., Savidge B., Yanofsky M. F. Molecular characterization of the Arabidopsis floral homeotic gene APETALA1. Nature. 1992 Nov 19;360(6401):273–277. doi: 10.1038/360273a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Mandel M. A., Yanofsky M. F. A gene triggering flower formation in Arabidopsis. Nature. 1995 Oct 12;377(6549):522–524. doi: 10.1038/377522a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. McDaniel C. N., Singer S. R., Smith S. M. Development states associated with the floral transition. Dev Biol. 1992 Sep;153(1):59–69. doi: 10.1016/0012-1606(92)90091-t. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Mizukami Y., Ma H. Determination of Arabidopsis floral meristem identity by AGAMOUS. Plant Cell. 1997 Mar;9(3):393–408. doi: 10.1105/tpc.9.3.393. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Okamuro J. K., den Boer B. G., Jofuku K. D. Regulation of Arabidopsis flower development. Plant Cell. 1993 Oct;5(10):1183–1193. doi: 10.1105/tpc.5.10.1183. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Schultz E. A., Haughn G. W. LEAFY, a Homeotic Gene That Regulates Inflorescence Development in Arabidopsis. Plant Cell. 1991 Aug;3(8):771–781. doi: 10.1105/tpc.3.8.771. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Shannon S., Meeks-Wagner D. R. A Mutation in the Arabidopsis TFL1 Gene Affects Inflorescence Meristem Development. Plant Cell. 1991 Sep;3(9):877–892. doi: 10.1105/tpc.3.9.877. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Smyth D. R., Bowman J. L., Meyerowitz E. M. Early flower development in Arabidopsis. Plant Cell. 1990 Aug;2(8):755–767. doi: 10.1105/tpc.2.8.755. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Sung Z. R., Belachew A., Shunong B., Bertrand-Garcia R. EMF, an Arabidopsis Gene Required for Vegetative Shoot Development. Science. 1992 Dec 4;258(5088):1645–1647. doi: 10.1126/science.258.5088.1645. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Weigel D., Alvarez J., Smyth D. R., Yanofsky M. F., Meyerowitz E. M. LEAFY controls floral meristem identity in Arabidopsis. Cell. 1992 May 29;69(5):843–859. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(92)90295-n. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Weigel D., Meyerowitz E. M. The ABCs of floral homeotic genes. Cell. 1994 Jul 29;78(2):203–209. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(94)90291-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Weigel D., Nilsson O. A developmental switch sufficient for flower initiation in diverse plants. Nature. 1995 Oct 12;377(6549):495–500. doi: 10.1038/377495a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Weigel D. The genetics of flower development: from floral induction to ovule morphogenesis. Annu Rev Genet. 1995;29:19–39. doi: 10.1146/annurev.ge.29.120195.000315. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Yang C. H., Chen L. J., Sung Z. R. Genetic regulation of shoot development in Arabidopsis: role of the EMF genes. Dev Biol. 1995 Jun;169(2):421–435. doi: 10.1006/dbio.1995.1158. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from The Plant Cell are provided here courtesy of Oxford University Press

RESOURCES