title: A regulatory gene induces trichome formation and embryo lethality in tomato.
abstract: Trichomes are universal biological structures originating from the aerial epidermis, which serve as an excellent model to study plant differentiation at the cell level. Although the pathway regulating trichome formation in the Rosids has been well characterized, only very recently a few genes were identified for trichome initiation in the Asterids. In this study, we cloned Woolly (Wo), essential for trichome formation in tomato. Transgenic experiments revealed that the woolly phenotype is caused by the mutation in Wo which encodes a homeodomain protein containing a bZIP motif and a START domain. We identified three alleles of Wo and found that each allele contains a missense mutation, which respectively results in an amino acid substitution at the C terminus. Microarray and expression analysis showed that the expression of a B-type cyclin gene, SlCycB2, is possibly regulated by Wo, which also participates in trichome formation. Suppression of Wo or SlCycB2 expression by RNAi decreased the number of type I trichomes, and direct protein-protein interaction was detected between them, implying that both proteins may work together in the regulation of this type of trichome formation. Cytological observation and Wo transcript analysis in the developing seeds showed that embryo development was also correlated with Wo.
authors: Key Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Biology, Ministry of Education, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China.
authors: Changxian
authors: C
authors: Yang
authors: Hanxia
authors: H
authors: Li
authors: Junhong
authors: J
authors: Zhang
authors: Zhidan
authors: Z
authors: Luo
authors: Pengjuan
authors: P
authors: Gong
authors: Chanjuan
authors: C
authors: Zhang
authors: Jinhua
authors: J
authors: Li
authors: Taotao
authors: T
authors: Wang
authors: Yuyang
authors: Y
authors: Zhang
authors: Yong'en
authors: Y
authors: Lu
authors: Zhibiao
authors: Z
authors: Ye
mesh_terms: D015139:Blotting, Southern; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D016213:Cyclins / Q000378:metabolism; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant / Q000502:physiology*; D017343:Genes, Plant / Q000235:genetics*; D005822:Genetic Vectors; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D018551:Solanum lycopersicum / Q000196:embryology / Q000235:genetics*; D046228:Microarray Analysis; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D020125:Mutation, Missense / Q000235:genetics; D019441:Plant Epidermis / Q000166:cytology / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified; D034622:RNA Interference; D020798:Two-Hybrid System Techniques
chemical_list: D016213:Cyclins; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins