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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Albany, California » Plant Gene Expression Center » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #366304
Research Project: Developmental and Environmental Signaling Pathways Regulating Plant Architecture

Location: Plant Gene Expression Center

Title: CLE polypeptide signaling gene expression in Aribidopsis

Author
item FIUME, ELISA - University Of California
item MONFARED, MONA - University Of California
item JUN, JIHYUNG - Pohang University Of Science & Technology
item Fletcher, Jennifer

Submitted to: Plant Signaling and Behavior
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/18/2010
Publication Date: 3/1/2011
Citation: Fiume, E., Monfared, M., Jun, J., Fletcher, J.C. 2011. CLE polypeptide signaling gene expression in Aribidopsis. Plant Signaling and Behavior. 6:443-444.

Interpretive Summary: The Arabidopsis CLE genes encode members of a large family of plant-specific proteins that are exported from the cells in which they are made and send signals to neighboring cells to affect their behavior. This study addressed the question of whether the CLE genes are expressed in Arabidopsis embryos, and if so, how the embryo expression patterns relate to those in later stages of development. We determined that seven of the nine CLE genes tested were expressed in mature embryos. Three were found in the same pattern in embryos as in seedlings, whereas the other four showed different patterns in embryos versus seedlings. Our findings indicate that some CLE genes apparently acquire new functions during the course of Arabidopsis development.

Technical Abstract: The CLAVATA3 (CLV3)/ESR-related (CLE) family of small polypeptides mediate intercellular signaling events in plants. The biological roles of several CLE family members have been characterized, but the function of the majority still remains elusive. We recently performed a systematic expression analysis of 23 Arabidopsis CLE genes to gain insight into the developmental processes they may potentially regulate during vegetative and reproductive growth. Our study revealed that each Arabidopsis tissue expresses one or more CLE genes, suggesting that they might play roles in many developmental and/or physiological processes. Here we determined the expression patterns of nine Arabidopsis CLE gene promoters in mature embryos and compared them to the known expression patterns in seedlings. We found that more than half of these CLE genes have similar expression profiles at the embryo and seedling stages, whereas the rest differ dramatically. The implications of these findings in understanding the biological processes controlled by these CLE genes are discussed.