Combining growth-promoting genes leads to positive epistasis in Arabidopsis thaliana.
Several genes positively influence final leaf size in Arabidopsis when mutated or overexpressed. The connections between these growth regulators are still poorly understood although such knowledge would further contribute to understand the processes driving leaf growth. In this study, we performed a combinatorial screen with 13 transgenic Arabidopsis lines with an increased leaf size. We found that from 61 analyzed combinations, 39% showed an additional increase in leaf size and most resulted from a positive epistasis on growth. Similar to what is found in other organisms in which such an epistasis assay was performed, only few genes were highly connected in synergistic combinations as we observed a positive epistasis in the majority of the combinations with samba, BRI1(OE) or SAUR19(OE). Furthermore, positive epistasis was found with combinations of genes with a similar mode of action, but also with genes which affect distinct processes, such as cell proliferation and cell expansion.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.02252.001.
Department of Plant Systems Biology, Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie, Ghent, Belgium Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
Hannes
H
Vanhaeren
Department of Plant Systems Biology, Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie, Ghent, Belgium Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
Nathalie
N
Gonzalez
Department of Plant Systems Biology, Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie, Ghent, Belgium Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
Frederik
F
Coppens
Department of Plant Systems Biology, Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie, Ghent, Belgium Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
Liesbeth
L
De Milde
Department of Plant Systems Biology, Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie, Ghent, Belgium Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
Twiggy
T
Van Daele
Department of Plant Systems Biology, Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie, Ghent, Belgium Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
Mattias
M
Vermeersch
Department of Plant Systems Biology, Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie, Ghent, Belgium Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
Nubia B
NB
Eloy
Department of Plant Systems Biology, Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie, Ghent, Belgium Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
Veronique
V
Storme
Department of Plant Systems Biology, Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie, Ghent, Belgium Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium diinz@psb.ugent.be.
Dirk
D
Inzé
D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development; D004843:Epistasis, Genetic; D017343:Genes, Plant; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000254:growth & development
cell division; cell expansion; epistasis; gene interaction; leaf growth; organ size control