Modification of flowers and leaves in Cockscomb (Celosia cristata) ectopically expressing Arabidopsis ASYMMERTIC LEAVES2-LIKE38 (ASL38/LBD41) gene

ASYMMERTIC LEAVES2-LIKE38 (ASL38/LBD41), isolated from Arabidopsis, is a member of the LATERAL ORGAN BOUNDARY DOMAIN gene family. We reported that ASL38 might be involved in the dorsoventral determination in extremely folded or crinkly leaves of 35S:ASL38.cockscomb plants; suggesting ASL38 is a transcript factor, and regulates a number of genes that are involved in the morphogenesis and development of plants. To verify this speculation, in this work, we constructed the binary vector pBI121–pMD-18T, which contained the GFP and coding sequences of ASL38, and introduced them into cockscomb via Agrobacterium tumefaciens. We found that ASL38-GFP fusion protein was localized in discrete subnuclear bodies, indicating ASL38 might be a nuclear protein and function as a transcription factor. In modification of flowering plants, many potentially useful genes that are involved in the pathways associated with flower and plant morphology have been cloned. Transcription factors regulating plant development and biosynthetic or regulatory genes involved in plant hormones are common candidates. If 35S:ASL38 cockscomb plants are altered in morphology, these morphological modifications could pave the foundation for the selection of novel flower varieties. As it was speculated by us, in this work, we showed that these 35S:ASL38 cockscomb flowered earlier and their flowers were turned into multiple column patterns, when compared with wild-type cockscomb. Moreover, leaves of some 35S:ASL38 plants revealed lobed and dissected patterns, and extremely, two leaf blades were developed on the same petiole; which was never found in wild-type cockscomb. Together, these morphological modifications of cockscomb indicate that we have successfully attained some novel lines of cockscombs. These lines can have potential practical applications.