ZFP5 encodes a functionally equivalent GIS protein to control trichome initiation

The Arabidopsis thaliana trichome development is a model system for understanding various aspects of plant cell development and differentiation. The C2H2 zinc finger proteins GIS, GIS2, and ZFP8 play important roles in controlling trichome initiation. In our recent study, we reported that a new C2H2 zinc finger protein, ZINC FINGER PROTEIN 5 (ZFP5), controls trichome cell development through GA signaling. ZFP5 acts upstream of GIS gene family and key trichome initiation regulators, and ZFP8 is the direct target gene of ZFP5. Here we show that ZFP5 encodes a protein functionally equivalent to GIS and GIS2 in controlling trichome initiation. Furthermore, similar to GIS2, ZFP5 is not involved in trichome branching.     

Roles of the GLABROUS1 and TRANSPARENT TESTA GLABRA Genes in Arabidopsis Trichome Development

Arabidopsis trichomes are branched, single-celled epidermal hairs. These specialized cells provide a convenient model for investigating the specification of cell fate in plants. Two key genes regulating the initiation of trichome development are GLABROUS1 (GL1) and TRANSPARENT TESTA GLABRA (TTG). GL1 is a member of the myb gene family. The maize R gene, which can functionally complement the Arabidopsis ttg mutation, encodes a basic helix-loop-helix protein. We used constitutively expressed copies of the GL1 and R genes to test hypotheses about the roles of GL1 and TTG in trichome development. The results support the hypothesis that TTG and GL1 cooperate at the same point in the trichome developmental pathway. Furthermore, the constitutive expression of both GL1 and R in the same plant caused trichomes to develop on all shoot epidermal surfaces. Results were also obtained indicating that TTG plays an additional role in inhibiting neighboring cells from becoming trichomes.     

Trichome Development in Arabidopsis thaliana. II. Isolation and Complementation of the GLABROUS1 Gene

We are using the formation of trichomes in Arabidopsis thaliana as a model system to study gene expression during cellular differentiation. To initiate the molecular characterization of this system, we tagged and isolated a gene that is specifically required for the development of the specialized trichome cell. We confirmed the identity of this gene, GLABROUS1 (GL1), by complementation. These results demonstrate that a crucial gene in a plant developmental pathway can be successfully identified by complementation.     

拟南芥GLABROUS1两个新等位突变体的筛选和鉴定

植物细胞命运决定机制的解析一直以来都是植物发育生物学研究的核心.模式植物拟南芥的表皮毛形成过程是研究植物细胞命运决定的优良模式系统.为了筛选和鉴定控制拟南芥表皮毛形成的新因子,我们进行了大规模的正向遗传筛选,获得了两株莲座叶表皮毛不能形成或数量显著减少的突变体f08-01和vat002-07.通过对突变基因的克隆和遗传...     

GLABROUS INFLORESCENCE STEMS (GIS) is required for trichome branching through gibberellic acid signaling in Arabidopsis

Cell differentiation generally corresponds to the cell cycle, typically forming a non-dividing cell with a unique differentiated morphology, and Arabidopsis trichome is an excellent model system to study all aspects of cell differentiation. Although gibberellic acid is reported to be involved in trichome branching in Arabidopsis, the mechanism for such signaling is unclear. Here, we demonstrated that GLABROUS INFLORESCENCE STEMS (GIS) is required for the control of trichome branching through gibberellic acid signaling. The phenotypes of a loss-of-function gis mutant and an overexpressor showed that GIS acted as a repressor to control trichome branching. Our results also show that GIS is not required for cell endoreduplication, and our molecular and genetic study results have shown that GIS functions downstream of the key regulator of trichome branching, STICHEL (STI), to control trichome branching through the endoreduplication-independent pathway. Furthermore, our results also suggest that GIS controls trichome branching in Arabidopsis through two different pathways and acts either upstream or downstream of the negative regulator of gibbellic acid signaling SPINDLY (SPY).