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DEVELOPMENT AND HORMONE ACTION

HAWAIIAN SKIRT: An F-Box Gene That Regulates Organ Fusion and Growth in Arabidopsis^{1,[C],[W],[OA]}

Plant Sciences Division, School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington Campus, Loughborough, Leicestershire LE12 5RD, United Kingdom (Z.H.G.-C., U.R., J.A.R.); Section Plant Genetics, Institute for Wetland and Water Research, Radboud University Nijmegen, 6525 ED Nijmegen, The Netherlands (J.L.P); Department of Plant Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3RB, United Kingdom (A.M.B.); School of Biological Sciences, University of Southampton, Bassett Crescent East, Southampton S016 7PX, United Kingdom (C.W.); and School of Biological Sciences, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX, United Kingdom (A.D.S.)

A fast neutron-mutagenized population of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) Columbia-0 wild-type plants was screened for floral phenotypes and a novel mutant, termed hawaiian skirt (hws), was identified that failed to shed its reproductive organs. The mutation is the consequence of a 28 bp deletion that introduces a premature amber termination codon into the open reading frame of a putative F-box protein (At3g61590). The most striking anatomical characteristic of hws plants is seen in flowers where individual sepals are fused along the lower part of their margins. Crossing of the abscission marker, Pro_PGAZAT:-glucuronidase, into the mutant reveals that while floral organs are retained it is not the consequence of a failure of abscission zone cells to differentiate. Anatomical analysis indicates that the fusion of sepal margins precludes shedding even though abscission, albeit delayed, does occur. Spatial and temporal characterization, using Pro_HWS:-glucuronidase or Pro_HWS:green fluorescent protein fusions, has identified HWS expression to be restricted to the stele and lateral root cap, cotyledonary margins, tip of the stigma, pollen, abscission zones, and developing seeds. Comparative phenotypic analyses performed on the hws mutant, Columbia-0 wild type, and Pro_35S:HWS ectopically expressing lines has revealed that loss of HWS results in greater growth of both aerial and below-ground organs while overexpressing the gene brings about a converse effect. These observations are consistent with HWS playing an important role in regulating plant growth and development.

The author responsible for distribution of materials integral to the findings presented in this article in accordance with the policy described in the Instructions for Authors (www.plantphysiol.org) is: Jeremy A. Roberts (jeremy.roberts{at}nottingham.ac.uk).

^[C] Some figures in this article are displayed in color online but in black and white in the print edition.

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www.plantphysiol.org/cgi/doi/10.1104/pp.106.092288

^* Corresponding author; e-mail jeremy.roberts{at}nottingham.ac.uk; fax 44–1159–516334.

Received October 31, 2006; accepted April 29, 2007; published May 11, 2007.

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