Arabidopsis SBP-box genes SPL10, SPL11 and SPL2 control morphological change in association with shoot maturation in the reproductive phase.

Lateral organ traits in higher plants, such as lamina shape and trichome distribution, change gradually in association with shoot maturation. Regulation of this shoot maturation process in the vegetative phase has been extensively investigated, and members of the SQUAMOSA PROMOTER BINDING PROTEIN (SBP)-box family of transcription factors have been shown to be involved in this process. However, little is known about the regulation of shoot maturation in the reproductive phase. We analyzed SPL10, SPL11 and SPL2, which are closely related members of the SBP-box family in Arabidopsis. While cauline leaves had oblong lamina and few trichomes emerged on cauline leaves and flowers in wild-type plants, transgenic plants expressing a dominant repressor version of SPL10/11/2 had wide cauline leaves and many trichomes on their cauline leaves and flowers. These traits were similar to those observed at an earlier reproductive phase in wild-type plants. Loss-of-function mutants for spl10/11/2 showed similar phenotypes, indicating that SPL10, SPL11 and SPL2 redundantly control proper development of lateral organs in association with shoot maturation in the reproductive phase. In the vegetative phase, lamina shape was affected in SPL10 transgenic plants, while trichome distribution was not altered. This suggests partial regulation of shoot development in the vegetative phase by SPL10. Meanwhile, the wide cauline leaves observed in the transgenic plants and the mutants were similar to those of fruitfull (ful) mutants. We found that FUL expression in leaves increased with shoot maturation and changed in SPL10 transgenic plants. FUL may function in shoot maturation under the control of SBP-box proteins.

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