Regulation of LANCEOLATE by miR319 is required for compound-leaf development in tomato.
Plant leaves show pronounced plasticity of size and form. In the classical, partially dominant mutation Lanceolate (La), the large compound leaves of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) are converted into small simple ones. We show that LA encodes a transcription factor from the TCP family containing an miR319-binding site. Five independent La isolates are gain-of-function alleles that result from point mutations within the miR319-binding site and confer partial resistance of the La transcripts to microRNA (miRNA)-directed inhibition. The reduced sensitivity to miRNA regulation leads to elevated LA expression in very young La leaf primordia and to precocious differentiation of leaf margins. In contrast, downregulation of several LA-like genes using ectopic expression of miR319 resulted in larger leaflets and continuous growth of leaf margins. Our results imply that regulation of LA by miR319 defines a flexible window of morphogenetic competence along the developing leaf margin that is required for leaf elaboration.
Ori
Naomi
N
The Robert H. Smith Institute of Plant Sciences and Genetics in Agriculture, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, P.O. Box 12, Rehovot 76100, Israel. ori@agri.huji.ac.il
Cohen
Aya Refael
AR
Etzioni
Adi
A
Brand
Arnon
A
Yanai
Osnat
O
Shleizer
Sharona
S
Menda
Naama
N
Amsellem
Ziva
Z
Efroni
Idan
I
Pekker
Irena
I
Alvarez
John Paul
JP
Blum
Eyal
E
Zamir
Dani
D
Eshed
Yuval
Y
D017931:DNA Primers / Q000737:chemistry; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D017343:Genes, Plant; D018551:Solanum lycopersicum / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D018749:RNA, Plant / Q000235:genetics; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
D017931:DNA Primers; D035683:MicroRNAs; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D018749:RNA, Plant