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Tomato Flower Abnormalities Induced by Low Temperatures Are Associated with Changes of Expression of MADS-Box Genes1
Departamento de Biología Aplicada (Unidad de Genética), Escuela Politécnica Superior, Universidad de Almería, La Cañada s/n, 04120 Almería, Spain (R.L., T.A., P.G., C.P., J.C.); Max Plank Institut für Züchtungsforschung, Carl-von-Linné-Weg 10, 50829 Köln, Germany (P.H.); and Departamento de Biología Molecular y Virología Vegetal, Centro de Investigación y Tecnología, Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria, Carretera de La Coruña Km. 7, 28040 Madrid, Spain (J.S., J.M.M.-Z.) Flower and fruit development in tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) were severely affected when plants were grown at low temperatures, displaying homeotic and meristic transformations and alterations in the fusion pattern of the organs. Most of these homeotic transformations modified the identity of stamens and carpels, giving rise to intermediate organs. Complete homeotic transformations were rarely found and always affected organs of the reproductive whorls. Meristic transformations were also commonly observed in the reproductive whorls, which developed with an excessive number of organs. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that meristic transformations take place very early in the development of the flower and are related to a significant increase in the floral meristem size. However, homeotic transformations should occur later during the development of the organ primordia. Steady-state levels of transcripts corresponding to tomato MADS-box genes TM4, TM5, TM6, and TAG1 were greatly increased by low temperatures and could be related to these flower abnormalities. Moreover, in situ hybridization analyses showed that low temperatures also altered the stage-specific expression of TM4. 1 This work was supported in part by a grant from the Fundación para la Investigación Agraria de la Provincia de Almeria (FIAPA) and by a grant from the Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia (CICYT; project no. AGF95-0432). P.G. and C.P. received research fellowships from FIAPA and R.L. was supported by a fellowship from CICYT for a long stay at the Centro de Investigación y Tecnología, Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria and Max Planck Institut laboratories. * Corresponding author; e-mail rlozano{at}ualm.es; fax 34-50-21-54-76.
Plant Physiol. (1998) 117: 91-100
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