Comparative and Functional Analysis of a Genetic Pathway Controlling Floral Asymmetry

控制花不对称的遗传途径的比较和功能分析

• 批准号: BB/D017742/1
• 负责人: Enrico Coen
• 金额: $ 48.52万
• 依托单位: John Innes Centre
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2006
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2006 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=BB%2FD017742%2F1
• 关键词: Comparative; Functional; Analysis; Genetic; Pathway

Although much progress has been made in understanding how genes influence the development of characters, such as the organs in a flower or the eye of a fly, we still know little about how such characters evolved in the first place. Ever since Darwin, it has been thought that novel characters do not emerge completely anew but through modification or tinkering with what was already there before. We now know that this tinkering involved changes in genes but precisely how such changes can lead to the production of novel characters or traits still remains to be elucidated. One way of approaching this problem is to take an example of a novel trait, understand how it is genetically controlled in a species that has the trait and then compare this to the situation in a species that lacks the trait. By defining the genetic differences that allow one species but not the other to produce the trait, it should be possible to understand how particular components may have changed so as to allow the novel character to have emerged during evolution. In this proposal we have chosen to analyse the evolution of a key trait in plants - flower asymmetry. Many flowers, such as buttercups, are radially symmetrical, having similar petals all the way round the flower. Other flower species, such as orchids and snapdragons, have asymmetric flowers in which the upper petals are very different from the lower ones. This asymmetric condition is thought to have evolved many times independently in flowering plants from the symmetrical state as a specialized adaptation to pollinators. The best studied case of floral asymmetry is in the snapdragon (Antirrhinum) where four key genes that regulate the process have been isolated and analysed. However, one difficulty with studying these genes further has been the inability to introduce modified versions of the genes into snapdragons. This obstacle has recently been overcome by the development of a new way of conveniently introducing genes into snapdragons. The aim of this proposal is to exploit this development to analyse further how genes controlling floral asymmetry work in snapdragons and to compare this to the situation in Arabidopsis, a plant that has radially symmetrical flowers and therefore represents a more ancestral condition. This should give important insights into how novel characters can be derived through genetic change.

尽管在了解基因如何影响性状（如花的器官或苍蝇的眼睛）的发育方面已经取得了很大进展，但我们对这些性状最初是如何进化的仍然知之甚少。自达尔文以来，人们一直认为，新的人物并不是全新出现的，而是通过修改或修补以前已经存在的东西。我们现在知道，这种修补涉及基因的变化，但这些变化如何导致新的性格或特征的产生仍有待阐明。解决这个问题的一种方法是以一种新的性状为例，了解它在具有该性状的物种中是如何被遗传控制的，然后将其与缺乏该性状的物种的情况进行比较。通过定义允许一个物种而不是另一个物种产生特征的遗传差异，应该有可能理解特定成分如何改变，以便在进化过程中出现新的特征。在这个建议中，我们选择分析植物中一个关键性状的进化-花的不对称性。许多花，如毛茛，是径向对称的，有相似的花瓣围绕着花。其他种类的花，如兰花和金鱼草，有不对称的花，上面的花瓣与下面的花瓣非常不同。这种不对称的条件被认为是在开花植物中从对称状态独立进化了许多次，作为对传粉者的一种专门适应。花不对称性的最佳研究案例是金鱼草（金鱼草属），其中四个调节该过程的关键基因已被分离和分析。然而，进一步研究这些基因的一个困难是无法将基因的修改版本引入金鱼草。这个障碍最近已经被一种新的方法克服了，这种方法可以方便地将基因导入金鱼草。这项建议的目的是利用这一发展，以进一步分析基因控制花的不对称性金鱼草的工作，并将其与拟南芥的情况进行比较，拟南芥是一种具有径向对称花的植物，因此代表了更古老的条件。这应该会对如何通过基因变化获得新的角色提供重要的见解。

项目成果

Quantitative control of organ shape by combinatorial gene activity.

• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.1000538
• 发表时间: 2010-11-09
• 期刊: PLoS biology
• 影响因子: 9.8
• 作者: Cui ML;Copsey L;Green AA;Bangham JA;Coen E
• 通讯作者: Coen E