title: Insights into the regulation of C4 leaf development from comparative transcriptomic analysis.
abstract: C4 photosynthesis is more efficient than C3 photosynthesis for two reasons. First, C4 plants have evolved a repertoire of C4 enzymes to enhance CO2 fixation. Second, C4 leaves have Kranz anatomy with a high vein density in which the veins are surrounded by one layer of bundle sheath (BS) cells and one layer of mesophyll (M) cells. The BS and M cells are not only functionally well differentiated, but also well-coordinated for rapid transport of photo-assimilates between the two types of photosynthetic cells. Recent comparative transcriptomic and anatomical analyses of C3 and C4 leaves have revealed early onset of C4-related processes in leaf development, suggesting that delayed mesophyll differentiation contributes to higher C4 vein density, and have identified some candidate regulators for the higher vein density in C4 leaves. Moreover, comparative transcriptomics of maize husk (C3) and foliar leaves (C4) has identified a cohort of candidate regulators of Kranz anatomy development. In addition, there has been major progress in the identification of transcription factor binding sites, greatly increasing our knowledge of gene regulation in plants.
authors.affiliation: Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei 115, Taiwan; Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu 300, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chi-Fa
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei 115, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yao-Ming
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.affiliation: Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei 115, Taiwan; Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu 300, Taiwan; Bioinformatics Program, Taiwan International Graduate Program, Institute of Information Science, Academia Sinica, Taipei 115, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Jinn-Jy
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Biotechnology Center, National Chung-Hsing Unviersity, Taichung 40227, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chun-Ping
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei 115, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Hsin-Hung
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei 115, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Wen-Yu
authors.initials: WY
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Bioagricultural Science, National Chiayi University, Chiayi 600, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Suying
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yeh
authors.affiliation: Institute of Plant and Microbial Biology, Academia Sinica, Taipei 115, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Shih-Long
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Tu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Plant and Microbial Biology, Academia Sinica, Taipei 115, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Shu-Hsing
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Bioagricultural Science, National Chiayi University, Chiayi 600, Taiwan; School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USA. Electronic address: mku@mail.ncyu.edu.tw.
authors.forename: Maurice Sb
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Ku
authors.affiliation: Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei 115, Taiwan; Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Chicago, Chicago 60637, USA. Electronic address: whli@uchicago.edu.
authors.forename: Wen-Hsiung
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D037142:Flaveria / Q000166:cytology / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D019684:Magnoliopsida / Q000166:cytology / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D008954:Models, Biological; D010788:Photosynthesis / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D059467:Transcriptome / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D010940:Plant Proteins