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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Madison, Wisconsin » Vegetable Crops Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #349183
Title: Tomato reveals a common mechanism underlying morphological diversification in domesticated plants

Author
item WU, SHAN - The Ohio State University
item ZHANG, BIYAO - University Of Georgia
item KEYHANINEJAD, NEDA - The Ohio State University
item RODRIGUEZ, GUSTAVO - The Ohio State University
item KIM, HYUN JUNG - The Ohio State University
item CHAKRABARTI, MANOHAR - The Ohio State University
item ILLA-BERENGUER, EUDALD - University Of Georgia
item TAITANO, NATHAN - University Of Georgia
item GONZALO, M - Polytechnic University Of Valencia (UPV)
item DIAZ, AURORA - Polytechnic University Of Valencia (UPV)
item PAN, YIPENG - University Of Wisconsin
item LEISNER, COURTNEY - University Of Michigan
item Halterman, Dennis
item BUELL, C. ROBIN - University Of Michigan
item Weng, Yiqun
item Jansky, Shelley
item VAN ECK, HERMAN - Wageningen University And Research Center
item WILLEMSEN, JOHAN - Wageningen University And Research Center
item MONFORTE, ANTONIO - Polytechnic University Of Valencia (UPV)
item MEULIA, TEA - The Ohio State University
item VAN DER KNAAP, ESTHER - University Of Georgia

Submitted to: Nature Communications
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/13/2018
Publication Date: 10/18/2018
Citation: Wu, S., Zhang, B., Keyhaninejad, N., Rodriguez, G.R., Kim, H.J., Chakrabarti, M., Illa-Berenguer, E., Taitano, N.K., Gonzalo, M.J., Diaz, A., Pan, Y., Leisner, C.P., Halterman, D.A., Buell, C. Robin, Weng, Y., Jansky, S.H., van Eck, H., Willemsen, J., Monforte, A.J., Meulia, T., van der Knaap, E. 2018. Tomato reveals a common mechanism underlying morphological diversification in domesticated plants. Nature Communications. 9:4734. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-07216-8.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-07216-8

Interpretive Summary: Remarkable phenotypic diversity characterizes the domestication of cultivated fruits and vegetables. In recent years a few selected genes have been discovered, but the molecular interactions of their encoded proteins and impact on cellular activities are poorly understood. Understanding the function of these proteins in developmental processes is key to our knowledge of shape regulation and the remarkable morphological diversity of plant organs within and among species. This study provided evidence that ovate family proteins (OFP) and tonneau recruitment motif members (TRM) are involved in the regulation of plant organ shapes. This supports the notion that the OFP-TRM module is of critical importance to plant development and the morphological diversification of crops under domestication.

Technical Abstract: Shapes of edible plant organs vary dramatically among and within crop plants. To explain and ultimately employ this variation towards crop improvement, we determined the genetic, molecular and cellular bases of fruit shape diversity in tomato. Through positional cloning, protein interactions and reverse genetics, we discovered that OVATE Family Proteins and TONNEAU1 Recruiting Motif proteins interact in a novel pathway to regulate cell division patterns early in the development of the ovary in the developing flower. The physical interactions between the members of these two families led to dynamic relocalization of the protein complexes to different cellular compartments. Together with data from other domesticated crops and model plant species, we provide crucial insights into the regulation of morphological variation in plants, and present a framework that applies to organ growth in all plant species.