The Fate of Inflorescence Meristems Is Controlled by Developing Fruits in Arabidopsis

The relationship between fruit development and the proliferative capacities of inflorescence meristems has been examined in Arabidopsis fhaliana. In the wild-type Landsberg erecta (Ler) line, flower production ceases coordinately on all inflorescence branches by a process we have designated global proliferative arrest (GPA). Morphological studies indicate that GPA involves a cessation of proliferative activity at the meristems, but a retention of the structural characteristics of the proliferating meristems. GPA does not occur in the male-sterile (msl-7) line, nor in wild-type Ler when fruits are surgically removed. In these cases, inflorescence meristems continue to proliferate, ultimately terminating by a different process, designated terminal differentiation, in which disruptions in patterning at the apex are followed by the loss of the inflorescence meristem. We present an argument that GPA is mediated by a specific communication system between inflorescence meristems and developing fruits. Analysis of reduced-fertility mutants provided evidence that GPA is dependent on seed development specifically. Mutations conferring hormone deficiency or insensitivity did not disrupt the correlative interactions leading to GPA.

[1]  H. Woolhouse.  The biochemistry and regulation of senescence in chloroplasts , 1984 .

[2]  G. Haughn,et al.  Genetic analysis of the floral initiation process (FLIP) in Arabidopsis , 1993 .

[3]  G. Haughn,et al.  AP2 Gene Determines the Identity of Perianth Organs in Flowers of Arabidopsis thaliana. , 1989, The Plant cell.

[4]  G. Haughn,et al.  LEAFY, a Homeotic Gene That Regulates Inflorescence Development in Arabidopsis. , 1991, The Plant cell.

[5]  A. Bleecker,et al.  Developmental and age-related processes that influence the longevity and senescence of photosynthetic tissues in arabidopsis. , 1993, The Plant cell.

[6]  E. Meyerowitz,et al.  The TMK1 gene from Arabidopsis codes for a protein with structural and biochemical characteristics of a receptor protein kinase. , 1992, The Plant cell.

[7]  A. E. Murneek.  EFFECTS OF CORRELATION BETWEEN VEGETATIVE AND REPRODUCTIVE FUNCTIONS IN THE TOMATO (LYCOPERSICON ESCULENTUM MILL.). , 1926, Plant physiology.

[8]  J. Bowman,et al.  Early flower development in Arabidopsis. , 1990, The Plant cell.

[9]  A. Chaudhury,et al.  Nuclear Genes Controlling Male Fertility. , 1993, The Plant cell.

[10]  Z. Modrušan,et al.  Homeotic Transformation of Ovules into Carpel-like Structures in Arabidopsis. , 1994, The Plant cell.

[11]  John C. Walker,et al.  Relationship of a putative receptor protein kinase from maize to the S-locus glycoproteins of Brassica , 1990, Nature.

[12]  L. D. Noodén,et al.  1 – The Phenomena of Senescence and Aging , 1988 .

[13]  A. Leopold.  Senescence in Plant Development: The death of plants or plant parts may be of positive ecological or physiological value. , 1961, Science.

[14]  T. Sinclair,et al.  Photosynthate and Nitrogen Requirements for Seed Production by Various Crops , 1975, Science.

[15]  P. J. Davies,et al.  The control of whole plant senescence , 1980 .

[16]  M. Estelle,et al.  Insensitivity to Ethylene Conferred by a Dominant Mutation in Arabidopsis thaliana , 1988, Science.

[17]  J. B. Reid.  Apical Senescence in Pisum: A Direct or Indirect Role for the Flowering Genes ? , 1980 .

[18]  D. A. Hamilton,et al.  Sucrose and Malic Acid as the Compounds Exported to the Apical Bud of Pea following CO(2) Labeling of the Fruit : No Evidence for a Senescence Factor. , 1988, Plant physiology.

[19]  B. Casper,et al.  MORPHOGENETIC CONSTRAINTS ON PATTERNS OF CARBON DISTRIBUTION IN PLANTS , 1984 .

[20]  S. Singer,et al.  DETERMINATE (det) MUTANT OF PISUM SATIVUM (LEGUMINOSAE: PAPILIONOIDEAE) EXHIBITS AN INDETERMINATE GROWTH PATTERN , 1990 .

[21]  R. Amasino,et al.  Isolation of LUMINIDEPENDENS: a gene involved in the control of flowering time in Arabidopsis. , 1994, The Plant cell.

[22]  J. Vaughan.  The morphology and growth of the vegetative and reproductive apices of Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh., Capsella bursa-pastoris (L.) Medic. and Anagallis arvensis L. , 1955 .

[23]  A. Bleecker,et al.  Arabidopsis as a Model System for Analysis of Leaf Senescence and Inflorescence-Meristem Longevity , 1993 .

[24]  J. Bowman,et al.  Genetic interactions among floral homeotic genes of Arabidopsis. , 1991, Development.

[25]  J. Alvarez,et al.  terminal flower: a gene affecting inflorescence development in Arabidopsis thaliana , 1992 .

[26]  Maarten Koornneef,et al.  Linkage map of Arabidopsis thaliana , 1983 .

[27]  G. Pearce,et al.  A Polypeptide from Tomato Leaves Induces Wound-Inducible Proteinase Inhibitor Proteins , 1991, Science.

[28]  D. Inzé,et al.  Genes regulating the plant cell cycle: isolation of a mitotic-like cyclin from Arabidopsis thaliana. , 1992, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[29]  D. Inzé,et al.  The Arabidopsis functional homolog of the p34cdc2 protein kinase. , 1991, The Plant cell.

[30]  R. V. Steveninck.  Factors affecting the Abscission of Reproductive Organs in Yellow Lupins (Lupinus luteus L.) I. THE EFFECT OF DIFFERENT PATTERNS OF FLOWER REMOVAL , 1957 .

[31]  S. Shannon,et al.  A Mutation in the Arabidopsis TFL1 Gene Affects Inflorescence Meristem Development. , 1991, The Plant cell.

[32]  I. Sussex,et al.  Function of the apetala-1 gene during Arabidopsis floral development. , 1990, The Plant cell.

[33]  J. B. Reid,et al.  Flowering in Pisum: Gibberellins and the Flowering Genes , 1987 .

[34]  K. Engvild.  The death hormone hypothesis , 1989 .

[35]  R. Wyatt.  Ecology And Evolution Of Plant Reproduction , 1993 .

[36]  D. Weigel,et al.  LEAFY controls floral meristem identity in Arabidopsis , 1992, Cell.

[37]  J. Stein,et al.  Molecular cloning of a putative receptor protein kinase gene encoded at the self-incompatibility locus of Brassica oleracea. , 1991, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[38]  P. J. Davies,et al.  Photoperiodic and genetic control of carbon partitioning in peas and its relationship to apical senescence. , 1988, Plant physiology.

[39]  P. J. Davies,et al.  Photoperiodic control of apical senescence in a genetic line of peas. , 1976, Plant physiology.