Plant Physiol.
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

Plant Physiology Preview
Published on August 26, 2009; 10.1104/pp.109.144022

OPEN ACCESS ARTICLE
This Article
Free via Open Access: OA
Right arrow Full Text (Plant Physiology Preview (PDF))
Right arrow Supplemental Data
Right arrowOA All Versions of this Article:
151/3/1114    most recent
pp.109.144022v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via CrossRef
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Pang, Y.
Right arrow Articles by Dixon, R. A.
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Pang, Y.
Right arrow Articles by Dixon, R. A.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Pang, Y.
Right arrow Articles by Dixon, R. A.

Received June 30, 2009
Accepted August 21, 2009

A WD40 repeat protein from Medicago truncatula is necessary for tissue-specific anthocyanin and proanthocyanidin biosynthesis, but not for trichome development

Yongzhen Pang , Jonathan P. Wenger , Katie Saathoff , Gregory J. Peel , Jiangqi Wen , David Huhman , Stacy N. Allen , Yuhong Tang , Xiaofei Cheng , Million Tadege , Pascal Ratet , Kirankumar S. Mysore , Lloyd W. Sumner , M. David Marks , and Richard A. Dixon *

Plant Biology Division, Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, 2510 Sam Noble Parkway, Ardmore, OK, 73401, USA; Department of Genetics and Cell Biology, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, 55108; Institut des Sciences du Vegetale, CNRS, Avenue de la Terrasse, 91198 Gif sur Yvette, France

* Corresponding author; email: radixon{at}noble.org.

WD40 repeat proteins regulate biosynthesis of anthocyanins, proanthocyanidins (PAs) and mucilage in the seed, and the development of trichomes and root hairs. We have cloned and characterized a WD40 repeat protein gene from Medicago truncatula (MtWD40-1) via a retrotransposon tagging approach. Deficiency of MtWD40-1 expression blocks accumulation of mucilage and a range of phenolic compounds, including PAs, epicatechin, other flavonoids and benzoic acids, in the seed, reduces epicatechin levels without corresponding effects on other flavonoids in flowers, reduces isoflavone levels in roots, but does not impair trichome or root hair development. MtWD40-1 is expressed constitutively, with highest expression in the seed coat where its transcript profile temporally parallels those of PA biosynthetic genes. Transcript profile analysis revealed that many genes of flavonoid biosynthesis were down-regulated in a tissue-specific manner in M. truncatula lines harboring retrotransposon insertions in the MtWD40-1 gene. MtWD40-1 complemented the anthocyanin, PA and trichome phenotypes of the Arabidopsis ttg1 mutant. We discuss the function of MtWD40-1 in natural product formation in Medicago, and the potential use of the gene for engineering PAs in the forage legume alfalfa (Medicago sativa).






HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH
ASPB Publications PLANT PHYSIOLOGY® THE PLANT CELL
Copyright © 2009 by the American Society of Plant Biologists