title: Characterization of a recently evolved flavonol-phenylacyltransferase gene provides signatures of natural light selection in Brassicaceae.
abstract: Incidence of natural light stress renders it important to enhance our understanding of the mechanisms by which plants protect themselves from harmful effects of UV-B irradiation, as this is critical for fitness of land plant species. Here we describe natural variation of a class of phenylacylated-flavonols (saiginols), which accumulate to high levels in floral tissues of Arabidopsis. They were identified in a subset of accessions, especially those deriving from latitudes between 16° and 43° North. Investigation of introgression line populations using metabolic and transcript profiling, combined with genomic sequence analysis, allowed the identification of flavonol-phenylacyltransferase 2 (FPT2) that is responsible for the production of saiginols and conferring greater UV light tolerance in planta. Furthermore, analysis of polymorphism within the FPT duplicated region provides an evolutionary framework of the natural history of this locus in the Brassicaceae.
authors.affiliation: Max-Planck-Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, Am Mühlenberg 1, 14476 Potsdam-Golm, Germany.
authors.forename: Takayuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tohge
authors.affiliation: Max-Planck-Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, Am Mühlenberg 1, 14476 Potsdam-Golm, Germany.
authors.forename: Regina
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wendenburg
authors.affiliation: Max-Planck-Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, Am Mühlenberg 1, 14476 Potsdam-Golm, Germany.
authors.forename: Hirofumi
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7658-0473
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ishihara
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chiba University, Inohana 1-8-1 Chuo-ku, Chiba 260-8675, Japan.
authors.forename: Ryo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nakabayashi
authors.affiliation: Max-Planck-Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, Am Mühlenberg 1, 14476 Potsdam-Golm, Germany.
authors.forename: Mutsumi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.affiliation: Max-Planck-Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, Am Mühlenberg 1, 14476 Potsdam-Golm, Germany.
authors.forename: Ronan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sulpice
authors.affiliation: Max-Planck-Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, Am Mühlenberg 1, 14476 Potsdam-Golm, Germany.
authors.forename: Rainer
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hoefgen
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chiba University, Inohana 1-8-1 Chuo-ku, Chiba 260-8675, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiromitsu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Takayama
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chiba University, Inohana 1-8-1 Chuo-ku, Chiba 260-8675, Japan.|RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science, Suehiro-cho 1-7-22, Yokohama 230-0045, Japan.
authors.forename: Kazuki
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Saito
authors.affiliation: Max-Planck-Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, Am Mühlenberg 1, 14476 Potsdam-Golm, Germany.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stitt
authors.affiliation: Max-Planck-Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, Am Mühlenberg 1, 14476 Potsdam-Golm, Germany.|Center of Plant System Biology and Biotechnology, 4000 Plovdiv, Bulgaria.
authors.forename: Alisdair R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Fernie
mesh_terms: D000217:Acyltransferases / Q000502:physiology*; D017398:Alternative Splicing; D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000502:physiology* / Q000528:radiation effects; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000502:physiology*; D044948:Flavonols / Q000378:metabolism; D035264:Flowers / Q000378:metabolism; D020440:Gene Duplication / Q000502:physiology; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant / Q000528:radiation effects*; D017343:Genes, Plant / Q000502:physiology*; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D020033:Protein Isoforms / Q000502:physiology; D012641:Selection, Genetic / Q000502:physiology*; D014466:Ultraviolet Rays / Q000009:adverse effects
chemical_list: D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D044948:Flavonols; D020033:Protein Isoforms; D000217:Acyltransferases; C000628130:FTP2 protein, Arabidopsis