Abstract Detail

Evolutionary Developmental Biology (Evo-Devo)

Child, Robert [1], Malcomber, Simon [1].

The Evolution of BARREN INFLORESCENCE1 (BIF1) and Related AUX/IAA Genes in Angiosperms.

The plant hormone auxin regulates the spatial and temporal development of structures in plants. Auxin concentration gradients are maintained by the polar auxin transport and biosynthesis systems throughout developing plants with local maxima at plant meristems. While the genetic components of this system have been defined in eudicots, the genetic regulation of polar auxin transport in grasses is poorly understood at this time. The maize BARREN INFLORESCENCE1 (ZmBIF1) gene regulates axillary meristem initiation in the floral structures by interacting with other proteins in the polar auxin transport pathway. ZmBIF1encodes an AUX/IAA transcriptional repressor whose expression is regulated by auxin. Family-wide phylogenetic analyses suggests that Arabidopsis thaliana AtIAA15 is a co-ortholog of maize BIF1.The BIF1 lineage has undergone two rounds of gene duplication near the base of the grass family to produce the BIF1,BIF1-like1 (BIF1L1) and BIF1L2 lineages. Gene expression patterns within meristematic tissues are conserved among sampled grass BIF1 and BIF1L genes and their co-orthologs in the eudicots. Further research will combine comparative expression analyses of BIF1 co-orthologs in diverse taxa to test for conservation of BIF1 expression in flowering plants and dominant negative mutant analysis in the wheat relative Brachypodium distachyon to investigate functional conservation within grasses.

Broader Impacts:

Related Links:
Auxin Evolution and Development

1 - California State University, Long Beach, Biological Sciences, 1250 Bellflower Blvd, Long Beach, CA, 90840, USA

Keywords:
BIF1
auxin
AUX/IAA
BARREN INFLORESCENCE1.

Presentation Type: Poster:Posters for Topics
Session: P
Location: Battelle South/Convention Center
Date: Monday, July 9th, 2012
Time: 5:30 PM
Number: PEV009
Abstract ID:761