Berbel Tornero, Ana
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Berbel Tornero
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Ana
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- PublicationPea VEGETATIVE2 Is an FD Homolog That Is Essential for Flowering and Compound Inflorescence Development(American Society of Plant Biologists, 2015-04) Sussmilch, FC; Berbel Tornero, Ana; Hecht, V; Vander, JK; Ferrandiz Maestre, Cristina; Madueño Albi, Francisco; Weller, JL; Instituto Universitario Mixto de BiologÃa Molecular y Celular de Plantas; Australian Research Council; Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación[EN] As knowledge of the gene networks regulating inflorescence development in Arabidopsis thaliana improves, the current challenge is to characterize this system in different groups of crop species with different inflorescence architecture. Pea (Pisum sativum) has served as a model for development of the compound raceme, characteristic of many legume species, and in this study, we characterize the pea VEGETATIVE2 (VEG2) locus, showing that it is critical for regulation of flowering and inflorescence development and identifying it as a homolog of the bZIP transcription factor FD. Through detailed phenotypic characterizations of veg2 mutants, expression analyses, and the use of protein-protein interaction assays, we find that VEG2 has important roles during each stage of development of the pea compound inflorescence. Our results suggest that VEG2 acts in conjunction with multiple FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) proteins to regulate expression of downstream target genes, including TERMINAL FLOWER1, LEAFY, and MADS box homologs, and to facilitate cross-regulation within the FT gene family. These findings further extend our understanding of the mechanisms underlying compound inflorescence development in pea and may have wider implications for future manipulation of inflorescence architecture in related legume crop species.
- PublicationFunctional characterization of AGAMOUS-subfamily members from cotton during reproductive development and in response to plant hormones(Springer-Verlag, 2017) Menezes, S.; Artico, S.; Lima, C.; Muniz, S.; Berbel Tornero, Ana; Brilhante, O.; Grossi, M.F.; Ferrandiz Maestre, Cristina; Madueño Albi, Francisco; Alves, M.; Instituto Universitario Mixto de BiologÃa Molecular y Celular de Plantas; European Commission[EN] Reproductive development in cotton, including the fruit and fiber formation, is a complex process; it involves the coordinated action of gene expression regulators, and it is highly influenced by plant hormones. Several studies have reported the identification and expression of the transcription factor family MADS-box members in cotton ovules and fibers; however, their roles are still elusive during the reproductive development in cotton. In this study, we evaluated the expression profiles of five MADS-box genes (GhMADS3, GhMADS4, GhMADS5, GhMADS6 and GhMADS7) belonging to the AGAMOUS-subfamily in Gossypium hirsutum. Phylogenetic and protein sequence analyses were performed using diploid (G. arboreum, G. raimondii) and tetraploid (G. barbadense, G. hirsutum) cotton genomes, as well as the AG-subfamily members from Arabidopsis thaliana, Petunia hybrida and Antirrhinum majus. qPCR analysis showed that the AG-subfamily genes had high expression during flower and fruit development in G. hirsutum. In situ hybridization analysis also substantiates the involvement of AG-subfamily members on reproductive tissues of G. hirsutum, including ovule and ovary. The effect of plant hormones on AG-subfamily genes expression was verified in cotton fruits treated with gibberellin, auxin and brassinosteroid. All the genes were significantly regulated in response to auxin, whereas only GhMADS3, GhMADS4 and GhMADS7 genes were also regulated by brassinosteroid treatment. In addition, we have investigated the GhMADS3 and GhMADS4 overexpression effects in Arabidopsis plants. Interestingly, the transgenic plants from both cotton AG-like genes in Arabidopsis significantly altered the fruit size compared to the control plants. This alteration suggests that cotton AG-like genes might act regulating fruit formation. Our results demonstrate that members of the AG-subfamily in G. hirsutum present a conserved expression profile during flower development, but also demonstrate their expression during fruit development and in response to phytohormones.
- PublicationVEGETATIVE1 is essential for development of the compound inflorescence in pea(Nature Publishing Group, 2012-04) Berbel Tornero, Ana; Ferrandiz Maestre, Cristina; Hecht, Valerie; Dalmais, Marion; Lund, Ole S.; Sussmilch, Frances C; Taylor, Scott A.; Bendahmane, Abdelhafid; Ellis, T. H. Noel; Beltran Porter, Jose Pio; Weller, James L.; Madueño Albi, Francisco; Instituto Universitario Mixto de BiologÃa Molecular y Celular de Plantas; Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación; Australian Research Council; European Commission; Generalitat Valenciana[EN] Unravelling the basis of variation in inflorescence architecture is important to understanding how the huge diversity in plant form has been generated. Inflorescences are divided between simple, as in Arabidopsis, with flowers directly formed at the main primary inflorescence axis, and compound, as in legumes, where they are formed at secondary or even higher order axes. The formation of secondary inflorescences predicts a novel genetic function in the development of the compound inflorescences. Here we show that in pea this function is controlled by VEGETATIVE1 (VEG1), whose mutation replaces secondary inflorescences by vegetative branches. We identify VEG1 as an AGL79-like MADS-box gene that specifies secondary inflorescence meristem identity. VEG1 misexpression in meristem identity mutants causes ectopic secondary inflorescence formation, suggesting a model for compound inflorescence development based on antagonistic interactions between VEG1 and genes conferring primary inflorescence and floral identity. Our study defines a novel mechanism to generate inflorescence complexity.