title: Transformation of shoots into roots in Arabidopsis embryos mutant at the TOPLESS locus.
abstract: We describe a novel phenotype in Arabidopsis embryos homozygous for the temperature-sensitive topless-1 mutation. This mutation causes the transformation of the shoot pole into a root. Developing topless embryos fail to express markers for the shoot apical meristem (SHOOT MERISTEMLESS and UNUSUAL FLORAL ORGANS) and the hypocotyl (KNAT1). By contrast, the pattern of expression of root markers is either duplicated (LENNY, J1092) or expanded (SCARECROW). Shifts of developing topless embryos between permissive and restrictive temperatures show that apical fates (cotyledons plus shoot apical meristem) can be transformed to basal fates (root) as late as transition stage. As the apical pole of transition stage embryos shows both morphological and molecular characteristics of shoot development, this demonstrates that the topless 1 mutation is capable of causing structures specified as shoot to be respecified as root. Finally, our experiments fail to show a clear link between auxin signal transduction and topless-1 mutant activity: the development of the apical root in topless mutant individuals is not dependent on the activity of the predicted auxin response factor MONOPTEROS nor is the expression of DR5, a proposed 'auxin maximum reporter', expanded in the apical domain of topless embryos.
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics and Program in Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.
authors.forename: Jeff A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Long
authors.forename: Scott
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Woody
authors.forename: Scott
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Poethig
authors.forename: Elliot M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Meyerowitz
authors.forename: M Kathryn
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Barton
mesh_terms: D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D017930:Genes, Reporter; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D006720:Homozygote; D007210:Indoleacetic Acids / Q000235:genetics; D009154:Mutation; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000502:physiology*; D018520:Plant Shoots / Q000502:physiology*; D012639:Seeds / Q000235:genetics; D013696:Temperature; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: C099055:AINTEGUMENTA protein, Arabidopsis; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; D007210:Indoleacetic Acids; C092212:KNAT1 protein, Arabidopsis; D010940:Plant Proteins; C097496:STM protein, Arabidopsis; D014157:Transcription Factors; C098247:UFO protein, Arabidopsis