Molecular genetics of leaf shape variation in wild plants

Research Project

Project/Area Number	15K18600
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
Allocation Type	Multi-year Fund
Research Field	Biodiversity/Systematics
Research Institution	Tokyo University of Agriculture
Principal Investigator	MITSUI Yuki 東京農業大学, 農学部, 准教授 (40613138)
Research Collaborator	KOMATSU Kenji SAKAGUCHI Tatsuya KAWACHI Suzu
Project Period (FY)	2015-04-01 – 2018-03-31
Project Status	Completed (Fiscal Year 2017)
Budget Amount *help	¥4,290,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,300,000、Indirect Cost: ¥990,000) Fiscal Year 2017: ¥1,560,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,200,000、Indirect Cost: ¥360,000) Fiscal Year 2016: ¥1,560,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,200,000、Indirect Cost: ¥360,000) Fiscal Year 2015: ¥1,170,000 (Direct Cost: ¥900,000、Indirect Cost: ¥270,000)
Keywords	葉形態形成 / オーキシン / 遺伝子発現制御 / 遺伝子 / 細胞増殖 / 細胞 / 免疫染色 / 葉形成形成 / 葉形制御 / 細胞サイズ / トランスクリプトーム
Outline of Final Research Achievements	To understand molecular mechanism regulating plant leaf shape variation, this study conducted leaf anatomy of narrow leaves in rheophytic plants which grow in riverbanks. The development of narrow leaf shape was found to be mainly caused by active cell division and proliferation. Immunohistochemical analysis suggested that auxin accumulation in the top and base of the leaf blade could promote activation of cell proliferation and development the main vein, leading to the longitudinal elongation of leaf blade. Transcriptome analysis showed that the auxin-related genes were significantly activated in developing leaves. Comparative analysis between rheophytic plants and their closely related species with broad leaves showed that the expression patterns of several genes regulating auxin transport and signaling were significantly different in the young leaves between the narrow and broad leaves. These genes are the candidates that could play important roles in leaf shape variation.