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Characterization of LEAFY COTYLEDON1-LIKE gene in Helianthus annuus and its relationship with zygotic and somatic embryogenesis

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Abstract

The Helianthus annuus LEAFY COTYLEDON1-LIKE (HaL1L) gene encodes a heme-activated protein 3 subunit of the CCAAT box-binding factor. The phylogenetic analysis indicates that HaL1L is closely related to LEAFY COTYLEDON1 (LEC1)-type of Arabidopsis thaliana. In particular, the peptide results homologous to the LEC1-LIKE gene of A. thaliana, with which it shares a high amino acid sequence identity (56%). HaL1L transcripts are accumulated primarily at an early stage of sunflower embryogenesis. High levels of HaL1L messenger RNA (mRNA) have been detected in the developing embryo proper, suspensor, endosperm, integument, and integumentary tapetum cells, while in unfertilized ovules, HaL1L mRNA was present at rather low levels. In an attempt to examine the involvement of HaL1L on somatic embryogenesis, a somaclonal variant of H. annuus × H. tuberosus (EMB-2) that produces ectopic embryo- and shoot-like structures, arranged in clusters along leaf veins, was used. We found that the epiphyllous proliferation of ectopic embryos on EMB-2 leaves was associated to HaL1L mRNA accumulation. The detection of HaL1L transcripts was evident in somatic embryos at the heart- and early cotyledon-stage. On the contrary, no signal related to HaL1L transcript accumulation was observed in EMB-2 leaves characterized by the presence of shoot-like structures. Together, these results support the conclusion that the transcription of the HaL1L gene is maintained both in zygotic and in somatic embryogenesis. In addition, the ectopic accumulation of HaL1L mRNA in parenchymal cells around the vascular bundles of epiphyllous leaves opens the possibility that HaL1L could also be involved in switching somatic cell fate towards embryogenic competence.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by grants from Progetti di Ricerca di Rilevante Interesse Nazionale 2004–2005 and from Scuola Normale Superiore to M. Salvini.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Biologia delle Piante Agrarie, Sezione di Genetica, Università di Pisa, Via Matteotti 1B, 56124, Pisa, Italy

    Marco Fambrini, Chiara Durante, Vania Michelotti, Mariangela Salvini & Claudio Pugliesi

  2. Scuola Normale Superiore, Piazza dei Cavalieri 7, 56124, Pisa, Italy

    Mariangela Salvini

  3. Istituto di Biologia e Biotecnologie Agrarie, CNR, Area della Ricerca, Via Moruzzi 1, 56124, Pisa, Italy

    Giuliano Cionini, Chiara Geri & Lucia Giorgetti

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  1. Marco Fambrini
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Correspondence to Claudio Pugliesi.

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Communicated by G. Jürgens

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Fambrini, M., Durante, C., Cionini, G. et al. Characterization of LEAFY COTYLEDON1-LIKE gene in Helianthus annuus and its relationship with zygotic and somatic embryogenesis. Dev Genes Evol 216, 253–264 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00427-005-0050-7

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