title: Ln is a key regulator of leaflet shape and number of seeds per pod in soybean.
abstract: Narrow leaflet soybean (Glycine max) varieties tend to have more seeds per pod than broad leaflet varieties. Narrow leaflet in soybean is conferred by a single recessive gene, ln. Here, we show that the transition from broad (Ln) to narrow leaflet (ln) is associated with an amino acid substitution in the EAR motif encoded by a gene (designated Gm-JAGGED1) homologous to Arabidopsis JAGGED (JAG) that regulates lateral organ development and the variant exerts a pleiotropic effect on fruit patterning. The genomic region that regulates both the traits was mapped to a 12.6-kb region containing only one gene, Gm-JAG1. Introducing the Gm-JAG1 allele into a loss-of-function Arabidopsis jagged mutant partially restored the wild-type JAG phenotypes, including leaf shape, flower opening, and fruit shape, but the Gm-jag1 (ln) and EAR-deleted Gm-JAG1 alleles in the jagged mutant did not result in an apparent phenotypic change. These observations indicate that despite some degree of functional change of Gm-JAG1 due to the divergence from Arabidopsis JAG, Gm-JAG1 complemented the functions of JAG in Arabidopsis thaliana. However, the Gm-JAG1 homoeolog, Gm-JAG2, appears to be sub- or neofunctionalized, as revealed by the differential expression of the two genes in multiple plant tissues, a complementation test, and an allelic analysis at both loci.
authors.affiliation: Bio-Evaluation Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Cheongwon, Chungbuk 363-883, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Namhee
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Jeong
authors.forename: Su Jeoung
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Suh
authors.forename: Min-Hee
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Seukki
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Jung-Kyung
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Moon
authors.forename: Hong Sig
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Soon-Chun
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Jeong
mesh_terms: D035264:Flowers / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D005638:Fruit / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D018745:Genome, Plant / Q000235:genetics; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism*; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D012639:Seeds / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism*; D013025:Glycine max / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D010940:Plant Proteins