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A gain-of-function mutation of transcriptional factor PTL results in curly leaves, dwarfism and male sterility by affecting auxin homeostasis

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Abstract

GT factors are plant-specific trihelix DNA-binding transcription factors, which are involved in light responses and other developmental processes in plant. We identified a gain-of-function mutant of a GT-2 factor gene, PETAL LOSS (PTL), which displayed pleiotropic phenotypes including dwarfism, curly leaves, retarded growth and male sterility. We found that constitutive and ectopic over-expression of PTL driven by the CaMV 35S promoter could not recapitulate the phenotypes of the 35S enhancer-driven mutant ptl-D, and was lethal in some of the transgenic plants at the cotyledon developmental stage, suggesting that accurate temporal and spatial expression of PTL is essential for its proper functional implementation during plant development. Further analysis showed that ptl-D was defective in auxin action and that the alteration of auxin distribution corresponded to the curly leaf phenotype. The fact that degeneration of septum cells and subsequent breakage along the stomium was not observed in ptl-D anthers suggests that defective anther dehiscence was the cause for male sterility. Identification and characterization of the gain-of-function mutant ptl-D will improve our understanding of the diverse functions of GT factors during plant development.

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Acknowledgements

The work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 30625002 and 30628012). The authors are grateful to Dr. Yunde Zhao (UCSD, USA) for kindly providing the seeds of axr1-12, aux1 and yucca1, and to Professor Jiayang Li (Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences) for kindly providing the seeds of DR5::GUS and axr3-3.

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  1. National Laboratory for Protein Engineering and Plant Genetic Engineering, Peking-Yale Joint Research Center for Plant Molecular Genetics and AgroBiotechnology, College of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, People’s Republic of China

    Xin Li, Genji Qin, Zhangliang Chen, Hongya Gu & Li-Jia Qu

  2. The National Plant Gene Research Center (Beijing), Beijing, 100101, People’s Republic of China

    Zhangliang Chen, Hongya Gu & Li-Jia Qu

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  1. Xin Li
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  2. Genji Qin
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Correspondence to Li-Jia Qu.

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Li, X., Qin, G., Chen, Z. et al. A gain-of-function mutation of transcriptional factor PTL results in curly leaves, dwarfism and male sterility by affecting auxin homeostasis. Plant Mol Biol 66, 315–327 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11103-007-9272-6

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