The Role of LEAFY in Reproductive Development in Arabidopsis

叶在拟南芥生殖发育中的作用从幼年期到生殖期的转变发生在所有高等生物中。控制这个开关的正确时间是至关重要的。在植物中，从营养发育到生殖发育的转变也具有农学上的重要性，因为种子是人类维持生计所依赖的储存储备，是生殖阶段的产物。转录因子LEAFY（LFY）是花转变的关键调节因子，花转变是从营养向生殖发育转变的中心步骤。在生殖阶段后期，LFY控制花朵图案。尽管它在这些过程中的核心作用，LFY下游的事件知之甚少。目前只知道LFY的两个直接目标。遗传证据表明，其他LFY控制的靶基因在生殖发育中起着关键作用。我们将采用基因组分子的方法来确定这些未知的LFY调节的靶基因。该建议是基于LFY融合蛋白的转录后激活，允许识别其表达响应LFY激活而迅速变化的基因。将研究鉴定的新LFY调节靶基因的生物学意义。

0130804WagnerThe Role of LEAFY in Reproductive Development in ArabidopsisThe switch from juvenile to reproductive phase occurs in all higher organisms. Control of the proper timing of this switch is vital. In plants the transition from vegetative to reproductive development is also of agronomical importance as seeds, the storage reserves which human sustenance largely depends on, are the product of the reproductive phase. The transcription factor LEAFY (LFY) is a key regulator of the floral transition, a central step in the switch from vegetative to reproductive development. Later in the reproductive phase LFY controls flower patterning. Despite its central role in these processes, events downstream of LFY are poorly understood. Only two direct targets of LFY are known. Genetic evidence indicates that additional LFY-controlled target genes play critical roles in reproductive development. We will employ genomic molecular approaches to identify these unknown LFY-regulated target genes. The proposal is based on posttranscriptional activation of a LFY fusion protein that allows identification of genes whose expression change rapidly in response to LFY activation. Biological significance of the identified novel LFY-regulated target genes will be investigated.