title: Coupled enhancer and coding sequence evolution of a homeobox gene shaped leaf diversity.
abstract: Here we investigate mechanisms underlying the diversification of biological forms using crucifer leaf shape as an example. We show that evolution of an enhancer element in the homeobox gene REDUCED COMPLEXITY (RCO) altered leaf shape by changing gene expression from the distal leaf blade to its base. A single amino acid substitution evolved together with this regulatory change, which reduced RCO protein stability, preventing pleiotropic effects caused by its altered gene expression. We detected hallmarks of positive selection in these evolved regulatory and coding sequence variants and showed that modulating RCO activity can improve plant physiological performance. Therefore, interplay between enhancer and coding sequence evolution created a potentially adaptive path for morphological evolution.
authors.affiliation: Department of Comparative Development and Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, 50829 Cologne, Germany.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Vuolo
authors.affiliation: Department of Comparative Development and Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, 50829 Cologne, Germany.
authors.forename: Remco A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Mentink
authors.affiliation: Department of Comparative Development and Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, 50829 Cologne, Germany.
authors.forename: Mohsen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hajheidari
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, New Mexico 88003, USA.
authors.forename: C Donovan
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Bailey
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3RB, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Dmitry A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Filatov
authors.affiliation: Department of Comparative Development and Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, 50829 Cologne, Germany.
authors.forename: Miltos
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tsiantis
mesh_terms: D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D031217:Cardamine / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D004742:Enhancer Elements, Genetic / Q000235:genetics; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D017343:Genes, Plant / Q000235:genetics; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000235:genetics*
keywords: compound leaf; leaf development; plant homeobox gene; regulatory evolution