title: Patterns of molecular evolution among paralogous floral homeotic genes.
abstract: The plant MADS-box regulatory gene family includes several loci that control different aspects of inflorescence and floral development. Orthologs to the Arabidopsis thaliana MADS-box floral meristem genes APETALA1 and CAULIFLOWER and the floral organ identity genes APETALA3 and PISTILLATA were isolated from the congeneric species Arabidopsis lyrata. Analysis of these loci between these two Arabidopsis species, as well as three other more distantly related taxa, reveal contrasting dynamics of molecular evolution between these paralogous floral regulatory genes. Among the four loci, the CAL locus evolves at a significantly faster rate, which may be associated with the evolution of genetic redundancy between CAL and AP1. Moreover, there are significant differences in the distribution of replacement and synonymous substitutions between the functional gene domains of different floral homeotic loci. These results indicate that divergence in developmental function among paralogous members of regulatory gene families is accompanied by changes in rate and pattern of sequence evolution among loci.
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh 27695, USA.
authors.forename: A L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Lawton-Rauh
authors.forename: E S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Buckler
authors.forename: M D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Purugganan
mesh_terms: D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics*; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D005801:Genes, Homeobox / Q000235:genetics*; D017343:Genes, Plant; D014644:Genetic Variation; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D026161:MADS Domain Proteins; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D018514:Plant Structures / Q000235:genetics; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: C091535:AP1 protein, Arabidopsis; C101342:APETALA 3 protein, Arabidopsis; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; C091536:CAL protein, Arabidopsis; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; D026161:MADS Domain Proteins; C090225:PISTILLATA protein, Arabidopsis; D010940:Plant Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors