title: Seed maturation: Simplification of control networks in plants.
abstract: Networks controlling developmental or metabolic processes in plants are often complex as a consequence of the duplication and specialisation of the regulatory genes as well as the numerous levels of transcriptional and post-transcriptional controls added during evolution. Networks serve to accommodate multicellular complexity and increase robustness to environmental changes. Mathematical simplification by regrouping genes or pathways in a limited number of hubs has facilitated the construction of models for complex traits. In a complementary approach, a biological simplification can be achieved by using genetic modification to understand the core and singular ancestral function of the network, which is likely to be more prevalent within the plant kingdom rather than specific to a species. With this viewpoint, we review examples of simplification successfully undertaken in yeast and other organisms. A strategy of progressive complementation of single, double and triple mutants of seed maturation confirmed the fundamental role of the AFL sub-family of B3 transcription factors as master regulators of seed maturation, illustrating that biological simplification of complex networks could be more widely applied in plants. Defining minimal control networks will facilitate evolutionary comparisons of regulatory processes and the identification of an essential gene set for synthetic biology.
authors.affiliation: Régulations Epigénétiques et Développement de la Graine, ERL 3500 CNRS-IRD UMR DIADE, Centre IRD de Montpellier, 911 avenue Agropolis BP64501, 34394, Montpellier, France. Electronic address: martine.devic@ird.fr.
authors.forename: Martine
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Devic
authors.affiliation: Régulations Epigénétiques et Développement de la Graine, ERL 3500 CNRS-IRD UMR DIADE, Centre IRD de Montpellier, 911 avenue Agropolis BP64501, 34394, Montpellier, France.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Roscoe
mesh_terms: D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D053263:Gene Regulatory Networks; D005810:Multigene Family; D063245:Plant Development / Q000235:genetics*; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D012639:Seeds / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D010940:Plant Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors
keywords: AFL multigene family; Minimal control network; Redundancy; Seed maturation; Simplification