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Expression patterns of class I KNOX and YABBY genes in Ruscus aculeatus (Asparagaceae) with implications for phylloclade homology

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Abstract

STM (RaSTM) and YAB2 (RaYAB2) homologues were isolated from Ruscus aculeatus (Asparagaceae, monocots), and their expressions were analyzed by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to assess hypotheses on the evolutionary origin of the phylloclade in the Asparagaceae. In young shoot buds, RaSTM is expressed in the shoot apex, while RaYAB2 is expressed in the scale leaf subtending the shoot bud. This expression pattern is shared by other angiosperms, suggesting that the expression patterns of RaSTM and RaYAB2 are useful as molecular markers to identify the shoot and leaf, respectively. RaSTM and RaYAB2 are expressed concomitantly in phylloclade primordia. These results suggest that the phylloclade is not homologous to either the shoot or leaf, but that it has a double organ identity.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Dr. Kunihiko Shono and Dr. Hiroyuki Sekimoto for their helpful advice. The Kn4-1 primer was a gift from Dr. Youichi Tanabe. This research is partly supported by grants-in-aid for scientific research from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science to T.Y., M.K., M. I., and R.I. Yumiko Hirayama and Toshihiro Yamada made equal contributions to this work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical and Biological Sciences, Japan Women’s University, 2-8-1 Mejirodai, Tokyo, 112-8681, Japan

    Yumiko Hirayama, Yukiko Oya & Ryoko Imaichi

  2. Division of Life Sciences, Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, 920-1192, Japan

    Toshihiro Yamada

  3. Department of Systems Science, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, University of Tokyo, 3-8-1 Komaba, Tokyo, 153-8902, Japan

    Motomi Ito

  4. Department of Botany, National Museum of Nature and Science, Amakubo, Tsukuba, 305-0005, Japan

    Masahiro Kato

Authors
  1. Yumiko Hirayama
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  2. Toshihiro Yamada
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  3. Yukiko Oya
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  4. Motomi Ito
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  5. Masahiro Kato
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  6. Ryoko Imaichi
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Toshihiro Yamada.

Additional information

Communicated by G. Jürgens

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S1

KNOX genes and BELL1 used in phylogenetic analysis and their DDBJ/EMBL/GenBank accession numbers. Data published only in the database are indicated by asterisks (DOC 127 kb)

Fig. S2

a (GIF 333 kb) b (GIF 278 kb)

High resolution image file a (TIFF 9.2 mb)

High resolution image file b (TIFF 7.4 mb)

S3

YABBY genes used in phylogenetic analysis and their DDBJ/EMBL/GenBank accession numbers (DOC 76 kb)

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Hirayama, Y., Yamada, T., Oya, Y. et al. Expression patterns of class I KNOX and YABBY genes in Ruscus aculeatus (Asparagaceae) with implications for phylloclade homology. Dev Genes Evol 217, 363–372 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00427-007-0149-0

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