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MBE Advance Access originally published online on September 20, 2006
Molecular Biology and Evolution 2006 23(12):2492-2504; doi:10.1093/molbev/msl125
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© The Author 2006. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Research Articles

The Shoot Stem Cell Niche in Angiosperms: Expression Patterns of WUS Orthologues in Rice and Maize Imply Major Modifications in the Course of Mono- and Dicot Evolution

Judith Nardmann and Wolfgang Werr

Institut für Entwicklungsbiologie, Köln, Germany

E-mail: werr{at}uni-koeln.de.

In Arabidopsis, stem cell homeostasis in the shoot apical meristem (SAM) is controlled by a feedback loop between WUS and CLV functions. We have identified WUS orthologues in maize and rice by a detailed phylogenetic analysis of the WOX gene family and subsequent cloning. A single WUS orthologue is present in the rice genome (OsWUS), whereas the allotetraploid maize genome contains 2 WUS paralogues (ZmWUS1 and ZmWUS2).

None of the isolated grass WUS orthologues displays an organizing center–type expression pattern in the vegetative SAM as in Arabidopsis. In contrast, the grass-specific expression patterns relate to the specification of new phytomers consistent with the transcriptional expression patterns of TD1 and FON1 (CLV1 orthologues of maize and rice, respectively). Moreover, the grass WUS and CLV1 orthologues are coexpressed in all reproductive meristems, where fasciation and supernumerary floral organs occur in td1 or fon1 loss-of-function mutants. The expression patterns of WUS orthologues in both grass species compared with those of dicots imply that major changes in WUS function, which are correlated with changes in CLV1 signaling, have occurred during angiosperm evolution and raise doubts about the uniqueness of the WUS/CLV antagonism in the maintenance of the shoot stem cell niche in grasses.

Key Words: WUSCHEL orthologues • maize • rice • angiosperm evolution


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J. Nardmann, R. Zimmermann, D. Durantini, E. Kranz, and W. Werr
WOX Gene Phylogeny in Poaceae: A Comparative Approach Addressing Leaf and Embryo Development
Mol. Biol. Evol., November 1, 2007; 24(11): 2474 - 2484.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


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