Arabidopsis RAN1 mediates seed development through its parental ratio by affecting the onset of endosperm cellularization.
Although previous studies have demonstrated that endosperm development is influenced by its parental genome constitution, the genetic basis and molecular mechanisms that control parent-of-origin effects require further elucidation. Here we show that the Ras-related nuclear protein 1 (RAN1) regulates endosperm development in Arabidopsis thaliana. Reciprocal crosses between wild-type (WT) and transgenic lines misexpressing RAN1 (msRAN1) gave rise to small F1 seeds when RAN1 down-regulated/up-regulated individuals were used as a male/female parent; in contrast, F1 seeds were aborted when RAN1 down-regulated/up-regulated plants were used as a female/male parent, suggesting that seed development is affected by the parental genome ratio of RAN1. Whereas RAN1 expression in wild-type plants is reduced before the onset of endosperm cellularization, F1 seeds from reciprocal crosses between WT and msRAN1 showed abnormal endosperm cellularization and ectopic expression of RAN1. The expression of MINISEED3 (MINI3)-a gene that also controls endosperm cellularization-was also affected in these reciprocal crosses, and the misregulation of MINI3 activity rescued F1 seeds when msRAN1 plants were used in reciprocal crosses. Taken together, our results suggest that the parental ratio of RAN1 regulates the onset of endosperm cellularization through its genetic interaction with MINI3.
Key Laboratory of Cell Proliferation and Regulation Biology of Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China.
Peiwei
P
Liu
Key Laboratory of Cell Proliferation and Regulation Biology of Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China.
Ming
M
Qi
Key Laboratory of Cell Proliferation and Regulation Biology of Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China.
Yuqian
Y
Wang
Key Laboratory of Cell Proliferation and Regulation Biology of Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China.
Mingqin
M
Chang
Key Laboratory of Cell Proliferation and Regulation Biology of Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China.
Chang
C
Liu
Department of Cell and Development Biology, College of Life Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Hybrid Rice, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China.
Mengxiang
M
Sun
Laboratory of Molecular and Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
Weicai
W
Yang
Key Laboratory of Cell Proliferation and Regulation Biology of Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China. Electronic address: hren@bnu.edu.cn.
Haiyun
H
Ren
D000483:Alleles; D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000166:cytology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D001483:Base Sequence; D027682:Cation Transport Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D000079922:Copper Transport Proteins; D056625:Endosperm / Q000166:cytology* / Q000254:growth & development; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D018745:Genome, Plant / Q000235:genetics; D055993:Germ Cells, Plant / Q000378:metabolism; D009929:Organ Size; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics; D020931:ran GTP-Binding Protein
D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; C490178:At5g20010 protein, Arabidopsis; D027682:Cation Transport Proteins; D000079922:Copper Transport Proteins; C510290:MINISEED3 protein, Arabidopsis; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; D020931:ran GTP-Binding Protein
RAN1; cellularization.; endosperm; parental ratio; seed development