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From shoot to leaf: step-wise shifts in meristem and KNOX1 activity correlate with the evolution of a unifoliate body plan in Gesneriaceae

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Abstract

Typical dicots possess equal-sized cotyledons and leaf-bearing shoots topped with a shoot apical meristem (SAM), the source of lateral organs, and where KNOX1 homeobox genes act as key regulators. New World Gesneriaceae show typical cotyledons, whereas Old World Gesneriaceae show anisocotyly, the unequal post-germination growth of cotyledons, and include unifoliate (one-leaf) plants. One-leaf plants show an extremely reduced body plan: the adult above-ground photosynthetic tissue consisting of a single cotyledon, a macrocotyledon enlarged by the basal meristem (BM), but lacking a SAM. To investigate the origin and evolution of the BM and one-leaf plants, the meristem activity and KNOX1 SHOOTMERISTEMLESS (STM) expression in cotyledons and leaves were systematically studied by RT-PCR and in situ hybridization across the family Gesneriaceae, Jovellana in Calceolariaceae (sister family to Gesneriaceae), and Antirrhinum in Plantaginaceae, all families of order Lamiales (asterids), in comparison to Arabidopsis (Brassicales, rosids). In all examined Lamiales samples, unlike Arabidopsis, BM activity accompanied by STM expression was found in both cotyledons in early stages. Foliage leaves of Gesneriaceae and Jovellana also showed the correlation of BM and STM expression. An extension of BM activity was found following a phylogenetic trajectory towards one-leaf plants where it is active throughout the lifetime of the macrocotyledon. Our results suggest that KNOX1 involvement in early cotyledon expansion originated early on in the diversification of Lamiales and is proposed as the prerequisite for the evolution of vegetative diversity in Gesneriaceae. Step-wise morphological shifts, driven by transfers of meristematic activity, as evidenced by shifts in KNOX1 expression, may be one mechanism by which morphological diversity evolves in plants.

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Acknowledgements

We thank M. Gibby for the support and helpful comments on this work, as well as P. Hollingsworth, T. Pennington, and C. Kidner for helpful comments. We thank J. Preston at the University of Vermont (USA) for critical comments on an earlier version of the manuscript. The work was supported by the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE, UK) and the Sibbald Trust (project 2012#9) at the RBGE. KN was supported by the Top100-University scheme of the National Taiwan University (NTU, Taiwan, Grant Number 10R40044) and the Japan Society of Promotion of Science (JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number 15K18593). We thank S.-T. Jeng and T.-P. Lin for supporting KN’s stay at NTU; A. Iwamoto and H. Iida for supporting KN’s stay at Tokyo Gakugei University; K.-J. Tang and Y.-Y. Gao (Techcomm, NTU) for technical support at NTU; and M. Hart, F. Christie, R. Holland, and L. Forrest for technical support at RBGE. We thank S. Barber, S. Scott, and C. Morter for the growing research materials. RBGE is supported by the Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services Division (RESAS) in the Scottish Government.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, 20A Inverleith Row, Edinburgh, Scotland, EH3 5LR, UK

    Kanae Nishii & Michael Möller

  2. Tokyo Gakugei University, 4-1-1 Nukuikitamachi, Koganei, Tokyo, 184-8501, Japan

    Kanae Nishii

  3. National Taiwan Normal University, No. 88, Sec. 4, Ting Chow Road, Taipei, 11677, Taiwan

    Bing-Hong Huang

  4. National Taiwan University, No.1, Sec. 4, Roosevelt Road, Taipei, 10617, Taiwan

    Chun-Neng Wang

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  1. Kanae Nishii
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Nishii, K., Huang, BH., Wang, CN. et al. From shoot to leaf: step-wise shifts in meristem and KNOX1 activity correlate with the evolution of a unifoliate body plan in Gesneriaceae. Dev Genes Evol 227, 41–60 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00427-016-0568-x

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