title: The same regulatory point mutation changed seed-dispersal structures in evolution and domestication.
abstract: It is unclear whether gene regulatory changes that drive evolution at the population and species levels [1-3] can be extrapolated to higher taxonomic levels. Here, we investigated the role of cis-regulatory changes in fruit evolution within the Brassicaceae family. REPLUMLESS (RPL, At5g02030) controls development of the replum, a structure with an important role in fruit opening and seed dispersal [6]. We show that reduced repla resembling the Arabidopsis rpl mutant correlated across the Brassicaceae with a point mutation in a conserved cis-element of RPL. When introduced in Arabidopsis, this nucleotide change specifically reduced RPL expression and function in the fruit. Conversely, Brassica RPL containing the Arabidopsis version of the cis-element was sufficient to convert the Brassica replum to an Arabidopsis-like morphology. A mutation in the same nucleotide position of the same cis-element in a RPL ortholog has been independently selected to reduce seed dispersal during domestication of rice, in spite of its very different fruit anatomy. Thus, single-nucleotide regulatory mutations at the same position explain developmental variation in seed-dispersal structures at the population and family levels and suggest that the same genetic toolkit is relevant to domestication and natural evolution in widely diverged species.
authors: Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK.
authors: Nicolas
authors: N
authors: Arnaud
authors: Tom
authors: T
authors: Lawrenson
authors: Lars
authors: L
authors: Østergaard
authors: Robert
authors: R
authors: Sablowski
mesh_terms: D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D001483:Base Sequence; D005075:Biological Evolution; D001937:Brassica / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D019607:Brassicaceae / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development; D005638:Fruit / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D017354:Point Mutation; D058614:Seed Dispersal; D012639:Seeds / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D012097:Repressor Proteins
chemical_list: D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; D010940:Plant Proteins; C487569:RPL protein, Arabidopsis; D012097:Repressor Proteins