title: EMF genes maintain vegetative development by repressing the flower program in Arabidopsis.
abstract: The EMBRYONIC FLOWER (EMF) genes EMF1 and EMF2 are required to maintain vegetative development and repress flower development. EMF1 encodes a putative transcriptional regulator, and EMF2 encodes a Polycomb group protein homolog. We examined expression profiles of emf mutants using GeneChip technology. The high degree of overlap in expression changes from the wild type among the emf1 and emf2 mutants was consistent with the functional similarity between the two genes. Expression profiles of emf seedlings before flower development were similar to that of Arabidopsis flowers, indicating the commitment of germinating emf seedlings to the reproductive fate. The germinating emf seedlings ectopically expressed flower organ genes, suggesting that vegetative development in wild-type plants results from EMF repression of the flower program, directly or indirectly. In addition, the seed development program is derepressed in the emf1 mutants. Gene expression analysis showed no clear regulation of CONSTANS (CO), FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT), LEAFY (LFY), and SUPPRESSOR OF OVEREXPRESSION OF CONSTANS1 by EMF1. Consistent with epistasis results that co, lfy, or ft cannot rescue rosette development in emf mutants, these data show that the mechanism of EMF-mediated repression of flower organ genes is independent of these flowering genes. Based on these findings, a new mechanism of EMF-mediated floral repression is proposed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA.
authors.forename: Yong-Hwan
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Moon
authors.forename: Lingjing
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Rong Long
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.forename: Hur-Song
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Tong
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Daniel M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Maffeo
authors.forename: Z Renee
authors.initials: ZR
authors.lastname: Sung
mesh_terms: D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D035264:Flowers / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling / Q000379:methods; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D005966:Glucuronidase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D026161:MADS Domain Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D009154:Mutation; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012639:Seeds / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D015854:Up-Regulation
chemical_list: C419046:AGL20 protein, Arabidopsis; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; C092776:CONSTANS protein, Arabidopsis; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; C435921:EMF1 protein, Arabidopsis; C418905:FT protein, Arabidopsis; D026161:MADS Domain Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; D005966:Glucuronidase