The tomato Blind gene encodes a MYB transcription factor that controls the formation of lateral meristems.
The multitude of forms observed in flowering plants is largely because of their ability to establish new axes of growth during postembryonic development. This process is initiated by the formation of secondary meristems that develop into vegetative or reproductive branches. In the blind and torosa mutants of tomato, initiation of lateral meristems is blocked during shoot and inflorescence development, leading to a strong reduction in the number of lateral axes. In this study, it is shown that blind and torosa are allelic. The Blind gene has been isolated by positional cloning, and it was found that the mutant phenotype is caused by a loss of function of an R2R3 class Myb gene. RNA interference-induced blind phenocopies confirmed the identity of the isolated gene. Double mutant analysis shows that Blind acts in a novel pathway different from the one to which the previously identified Lateral suppressor gene belongs. The findings reported add a new class of transcription factors to the group of genes controlling lateral meristem initiation and reveal a previously uncharacterized function of R2R3 Myb genes.
Schmitz
Gregor
G
Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Carl-von-Linné-Weg 10, D-50829 Cologne, Germany.
Tillmann
Edith
E
Carriero
Filomena
F
Fiore
Carola
C
Cellini
Francesco
F
Theres
Klaus
K
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001483:Base Sequence; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D018244:Chromosomes, Artificial, Yeast; D003360:Cosmids; D018744:DNA, Plant / Q000235:genetics; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D017343:Genes, Plant; D018551:Solanum lycopersicum / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development*; D018519:Meristem / Q000254:growth & development; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation; D010641:Phenotype; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; D020598:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-myb; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics*
D018744:DNA, Plant; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D010940:Plant Proteins; D020598:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-myb; D014157:Transcription Factors