Regulation of developmental pathways by the JAGGED LATERAL ORGANS gene of Arabidopsis

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Continuous growth and organ production from plant meristems requires a precise coordination of stem cell proliferation and commitment of stem cell descendents to diverse differentiation pathways. In Arabidopsis thaliana, KNOX-family homeodomain transcription factors that promote the undifferentiated state, and auxin transport and signaling pathways activated during organ initation appear to play antagonistic roles in the coordination of meristem development. In the first funding period, we showed that JAGGED LATERAL ORGANS (JLO), a transcription factor of the LATERAL ORGAN BOUNDARY DOMAIN (LBD) family, regulates the expression of both KNOX genes and genes of the PINFORMED (PIN) family which encode auxin efflux carrier. JLO interacts with other LBD proteins, such as AS2, and has a central regulatory function in multiple developmental pathways. We will now employ biochemical and molecular genetic approaches to characterise the protein complexes that involve JLO, identify the target genes and their functions which are regulated by JLO complexes, and finally ask how JLO itself, which is required for plant development from early embryogenesis onwards, is transcriptionally and functionally regulated.