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Title: THE EXPRESSION DOMAIN OF PHANTASTICA DETERMINES LEAFLET PLACEMENT IN COMPOUND LEAVES

Author
item KIM, MINSUNG - UC DAVIS CA PLANT BIOL
item McCormick, Sheila
item TIMMERMANS, MARJA - COLD SPRING HARBOR LAB NY
item SINHA, NEELIMA - UC DAVIS CA PLANT BIOLOGY

Submitted to: Nature
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/13/2003
Publication Date: 7/24/2003
Citation: KIM, M., MCCORMICK, S.M., TIMMERMANS, M., SINHA, N. THE EXPRESSION DOMAIN OF PHANTASTICA DETERMINES LEAFLET PLACEMENT IN COMPOUND LEAVES. NATURE. 2003. 424:438-443 (24 July 2003).

Interpretive Summary: Simple leaves, such as those of petunia, have a single unit of blade, whereas compound leaves, such as those of tomato, have several units of blades called leaflets. Compound leaves can be pinnate or palmate. The mechanisms that generate these various leaf forms are largely unknown. Here we show that downregulation of the myb transcription factor gene Phantastica is sufficient to change pinnate compound leaves into palmate compound leaves.

Technical Abstract: Diverse leaf forms in nature can be categorized as simple or compound. Simple leaves, such as those of petunia, have a single unit of blade, whereas compound leaves, such as those of tomato, have several units of blades called leaflets. Compound leaves can be pinnate, with leaflets arranged in succession on a rachis, or palmate, with leaflets clustered together at the leaf tip. The mechanisms that generate these various leaf forms are largely unknown. The upper (adaxial) surface is usually different from the bottom (abaxial) surface in both simple and compound leaves. In species with simple leaves, the specification of adaxial and abaxial cells is important for formation of the leaf blade, and the MYB transcription factor gene PHANTASTICA (PHAN) is involved in maintaining the leaf adaxial (upper) domain. Here we show that downregulation of PHAN is sufficient to reduce the adaxial domain of leaf primordia and to change pinnate compound leaves into palmate compound leaves. Furthermore, this mechanism seems to be shared among compound leaves that arose independently.