Peach LAZY1 and DRO1 protein-protein interactions and co-expression with PRAF/RLD family support conserved gravity-related protein interactions across plants.

IGT/LAZY proteins play a central role in determining gravitropic set point angle and orientation of lateral organs across plant species. Recent work in model systems has demonstrated that interactions between IGT/LAZY proteins and BREVIS RADIX (BRX)-domain containing proteins, such as PH, RCC1, AND FYVE/RCC1-LIKE DOMAIN (PRAF/RLD), and BREVIS RADIX LIKE (BRXL) family members, are mechanistically important for setting gravitropic set point angle. Here, we identified peach PRAF/RLD proteins as interactors of the peach IGT/LAZY proteins PpeLAZY1 and DEEPER ROOTING 1 (PpeDRO1) from a yeast-two-hybrid screen.

IGT/LAZY genes are differentially influenced by light and required for light-induced change to organ angle.

Background: Plants adjust their growth orientations primarily in response to light and gravity signals. Considering that the gravity vector is fixed and the angle of light incidence is constantly changing, plants must somehow integrate these signals to establish organ orientation, commonly referred to as gravitropic set-point angle (GSA). The IGT gene family contains known regulators of GSA, including the gene clades LAZY, DEEPER ROOTING (DRO), and TILLER ANGLE CONTROL (TAC).

Transcriptomic approach to uncover dynamic events in the development of mid-season sunburn in apple fruit.

Apples grown in high heat, high light, and low humidity environments are at risk for sun injury disorders like sunburn and associated crop losses. Understanding the physiological and molecular mechanisms underlying sunburn will support improvement of mitigation strategies and breeding for more resilient varieties. Numerous studies have highlighted key biochemical processes involved in sun injury, such as the phenylpropanoid and reactive oxygen species (ROS) pathways, demonstrating both enzyme activities and expression of related genes in response to sunburn conditions.

Direct attenuation of Arabidopsis ERECTA signalling by a pair of U-box E3 ligases.

Plants sense a myriad of signals through cell-surface receptors to coordinate their development and environmental response. The Arabidopsis ERECTA receptor kinase regulates diverse developmental processes via perceiving multiple EPIDERMAL PATTERNING FACTOR (EPF)/EPF-LIKE peptide ligands. How the activated ERECTA protein is turned over is unknown.

Building a foundation for gene family analysis in Rosaceae genomes with a novel workflow: A case study in architecture genes.

The rapid development of sequencing technologies has led to a deeper understanding of plant genomes. However, direct experimental evidence connecting genes to important agronomic traits is still lacking in most non-model plants. For instance, the genetic mechanisms underlying plant architecture are poorly understood in pome fruit trees, creating a major hurdle in developing new cultivars with desirable architecture, such as dwarfing rootstocks in European pear ().

The roles of the IGT gene family in plant architecture: past, present, and future.

Genetic improvement of architectural traits offers tremendous opportunities to dramatically improve crop densities, productivity, and ultimately sustainability. Among these, the orientation, or gravitropic set point angle (GSA), of plant organs is critical to optimize crop profiles, light capture, and nutrient acquisition. Mutant GSA phenotypes have been studied in plants since the 1930's but only recently have the underlying genes been identified.

AtDRO1 is nuclear localized in root tips under native conditions and impacts auxin localization.

DEEPER ROOTING 1 (DRO1) contributes to the downward gravitropic growth trajectory of roots upstream of lateral auxin transport in monocots and dicots. Loss of DRO1 function leads to horizontally oriented lateral roots and altered gravitropic set point angle, while loss of all three DRO family members results in upward, vertical root growth. Here, we attempt to dissect the roles of AtDRO1 by analyzing expression, protein localization, auxin gradient formation, and auxin responsiveness in the atdro1 mutant.

TILLER ANGLE CONTROL 1 modulates plant architecture in response to photosynthetic signals.

Light serves as an important environmental cue in regulating plant architecture. Previous work had demonstrated that both photoreceptor-mediated signaling and photosynthesis play a role in determining the orientation of plant organs. TILLER ANGLE CONTROL 1 (TAC1) was recently shown to function in setting the orientation of lateral branches in diverse plant species, but the degree to which it plays a role in light-mediated phenotypes is unknown.

Alteration of expression in species leads to pleiotropic shoot phenotypes.

(peach) trees carrying the "Pillar" or "Broomy" trait () have vertically oriented branches caused by loss-of-function mutations in a gene called (). encodes a protein in the IGT gene family that includes and (), which regulate lateral branch and root orientations, respectively. Here we found that some of the native alleles in the hexaploid plum species , which has a naturally more upright stature, contained a variable length trinucleotide repeat within the same exon 3 region previously found to be disrupted in pillar peach trees.