NEEDLY , a Pinus radiata ortholog of FLORICAULA/LEAFY genes, expressed in both reproductive and vegetative meristems

Abstract

variable between FLO͞LFY-like proteins. The proline-rich domain is not well pronounced in NLY and PrFLL. The acidic domain of gymnosperm FLO͞LFY-like proteins is not as strong as corresponding domains of angiosperm homologs. Because the proline-rich and acidic domains are located within the variable regions, they may be subject to evolutionary changes." Also, we would like to point out that in Fig. 1, the first 44 amino acids of the PEAFLO sequence were missing. A corrected figure and its legend appear below.FIG. 1. Sequence comparison of FLO͞LFY-like proteins (accession numbers in parentheses): PrFLL from P. radiata (U92008); NLY from P. radiata (U76757); BOFH from Brassica oleracea (718362); LFY from Arabidopsis thaliana (M91208); NFL1 and NFL2 from Nicotiana tabacum (U16172) and U16174, respectively); PEAFLO from Pisum sativum (AF010190); FLO from Antirrhinum majus (M55525); PtFL from Populus balsamifera (U931 96); and RFL from Oryza sativa (AB005620). Black boxes indicate identical amino acids, shaded boxes indicate amino acids with similar properties, and dots indicate gaps introduced to optimize alignment. c1 anc c2, conserved regions; v1 and v2, variable regions. Positions of the proline residues within the proline-rich region are indicated by asterisks. Acidic domain indicated by dashed line. 5336Correction Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 96 (1999) ABSTRACTThe LEAFY͞FLORICAULA genes from Arabidopsis and Antirrhinum are necessary for normal f lower development and play a key role in diverse angiosperm species. A homologue of these f lower meristem-identity genes, NEEDLY (NLY), has been identified in Pinus radiata. Although the NLY protein shares extensive sequence similarity with its angiosperm counterparts, it is lacking the proline-rich and acidic motifs thought to function as transcriptional activation domains. NLY already is expressed during vegetative development at least 5 years before the transition to the reproductive phase. Expression of NLY in transgenic Arabidopsis promotes f loral fate, demonstrating that, despite its sequence divergence, NLY encodes a functional ortholog of the FLORICAULA͞LEAFY genes of angiosperms. Expression of the LFY::NLY transgene can largely complement the defects in f lower development caused by a severe lfy allele.

A Floricaula/Leafy gene homolog is preferentially expressed in developing female cones of the tropical pine Pinus caribaea var. caribaea

“…Sequence comparisons indicate that PRFLL and NLY represent divergent proteins, and that conifers, in contrast to angiosperms, have two LFY-like paralogs. PRFLL is largely expressed in buds and male cones but not in female cones or other somatic tissues, while NLY is preferentially expressed in female cones (Mouradov et al, 1998;Mellerowicz et al, 1998). We performed a detailed spatial and temporal analysis of the P. caribaea PcLFY gene, using Northern and in situ hybridization analysis, and our results were consistent with PcLFY being involved in female cone identity determination.…”

“…All the five clones contained inserts of over 1.5 kb, with identical open reading frames of 1233 bp coding for a 411-amino acid protein. BLASTX searches with PcLFY against public database identified a group of highly similar proteins, including PRFLL and NLY from radiata pine (Mouradov et al, 1998;Mellerowics et al, 1998), an LFY-like sequence of Populus balsamifera (L.) (U 93196), NFL1 and NFL2 from Nicotiana tabacum (L.) (Kelly et al, 1995), LFY from A. thaliana (Weigel et al, 1992), FLO from Antirrhinum majus (Coen et al, 1990), and BOFH from Brassica oleracea (L.) (Anthony et al, 1993). Some other gymnosperm sequences were also retrieved from the databases and from published work (Frohlich and Parker, 2000).…”

“…caribaea FLO/LFY homolog named PcLFY. In Pinus, genes NEEDLY (NLY) and PRFLL were reported, representing two divergent Pinus radiata LFY homologs (Mouradov et al, 1998;Mellerowicz et al, 1998). Sequence comparisons indicate that PRFLL and NLY represent divergent proteins, and that conifers, in contrast to angiosperms, have two LFY-like paralogs.…”

Diversification of gene function: homologs of the floral regulatorFLO/LFYcontrol the first zygotic cell division in the mossPhyscomitrella patens

“…These functions are generally preserved in other angiosperms, although FLO/LFY has acquired additional roles in some plants such as pea (Ahearn et al, 2001;Bomblies et al, 2003;Coen et al, 1990;Hofer et al, 1997;MolineroRosales et al, 1999;Schultz and Haughn, 1991;Souer et al, 1998;Weigel et al, 1992). Gymnosperm LFY homologs from Gnetum (GpLFY) and Pinus (NEEDLY) are predominantly expressed in reproductive meristems (Mouradov et al, 1998;Shindo et al, 2001), and the overexpression of GpLFY or NEEDLY complements LFY function in the lfy null mutant and enhances early flowering, similar to that observed with overexpression of LFY. Therefore, these gymnosperm homologs probably have similar functions to those of the A. thaliana LFY gene.…”

“…Coen et al, 1990;Hofer et al, 1997;Molinero-Rosales et al, 1999;Schultz and Haughn, 1991;Souer et al, 1998;Weigel et al, 1992). The functions of FLO/LFY genes are also probably conserved in gymnosperms, including Pinus (Mouradov et al, 1998) and Gnetum (Shindo et al, 2001). Although FLO/LFY homologs have been cloned from several ferns and bryophytes (Frohlich and Parker, 2000;Himi et al, 2001), their functions in these plants have not been characterized.…”