The analysis of Gene Regulatory Networks in plant evo-devo.

We provide an overview of methods and workflows that can be used to investigate the topologies of Gene Regulatory Networks (GRNs) in the context of plant evolutionary-developmental (evo-devo) biology. Many of the species that occupy key positions in plant phylogeny are poorly adapted as laboratory models and so we focus here on techniques that can be efficiently applied to both model and non-model species of interest to plant evo-devo. We outline methods that can be used to describe gene expression patterns and also to elucidate the transcriptional, post-transcriptional, and epigenetic regulatory mechanisms underlying these patterns, in any plant species with a sequenced genome.

A Conserved Role for the NAM/miR164 Developmental Module Reveals a Common Mechanism Underlying Carpel Margin Fusion in Monocarpous and Syncarpous Eurosids.

The majority of angiosperms are syncarpous- their gynoecium is composed of two or more fused carpels. In Arabidopsis thaliana, this fusion is regulated through the balance of expression between CUP SHAPED COTYLEDON (CUC) genes, which are orthologs of the Petunia hybrida transcription factor NO APICAL MERISTEM (NAM), and their post-transcriptional regulator miR164. Accordingly, the expression of a miR164-insensitive form of A.

Cabomba as a model for studies of early angiosperm evolution.

Background: The angiosperms, or flowering plants, diversified in the Cretaceous to dominate almost all terrestrial environments. Molecular phylogenetic studies indicate that the orders Amborellales, Nymphaeales and Austrobaileyales, collectively termed the ANA grade, diverged as separate lineages from a remaining angiosperm clade at a very early stage in flowering plant evolution. By comparing these early diverging lineages, it is possible to infer the possible morphology and ecology of the last common ancestor of the extant angiosperms, and this analysis can now be extended to try to deduce the developmental mechanisms that were present in early flowering plants.

Insights from ANA-grade angiosperms into the early evolution of CUP-SHAPED COTYLEDON genes.

Background And Aims: The closely related NAC family genes NO APICAL MERISTEM (NAM) and CUP-SHAPED COTYLEDON3 (CUC3) regulate the formation of boundaries within and between plant organs. NAM is post-transcriptionally regulated by miR164, whereas CUC3 is not. To gain insight into the evolution of NAM and CUC3 in the angiosperms, we analysed orthologous genes in early-diverging ANA-grade angiosperms and gymnosperms.

The evolutionary-developmental analysis of plant microRNAs.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) control many important aspects of plant development, suggesting these molecules may also have played key roles in the evolution of developmental processes in plants. However, evolutionary-developmental (evo-devo) studies of miRNAs have been held back by technical difficulties in gene identification. To help solve this problem, we have developed a two-step procedure for the efficient identification of miRNA genes in any plant species.