Abstract Detail
Plant Development / Développement des plantes (CBA/ABC) Bourque, Laura [1], Lacroix, Christian [1]. Probing for KNOX gene expression in Myriophyllum aquaticum. Plant organs have classically been separated from each other based on mutually exclusive categories defined by a set of external morphological characteristics such as organ placement and symmetry. Unfortunately, this classical context has become too rigid a paradigm for the accurate delimitation of plant organs. There is evidence from both morphological and molecular studies that many shoots and leaves have analogous developmental characteristics which transcend their classical categorization. It is known that the KNOX family of plant homeobox genes is a key regulator of indeterminate growth in the shoot apical meristem. These genes are suppressed during simple leaf development, but have been found to be expressed during both shoot and compound leaf development. This suggests an overlap in developmental characteristics between two organ categories (shoot and leaf). In order to understand the extent of the relationship between molecular studies in plant development and more traditional interpretations, it is necessary to investigate the expression of key developmental genes in non model plant species. The goal of this project is to examine the expression of a KNOX gene during the development of highly lobed simple leaves in the non model species Myriophyllum aquaticum (Vell.). A partial gene fragment of a M. aquaticum KNOX gene has been sequenced to date, and has been used in RNA in situ hybridization studies to determine gene expression at the shoot tip. Preliminary studies have identified KNOX gene expression in both leaf primordia and the shoot apical meristem. This finding supports the idea that plant structures are related to each other through a dynamic morphological continuum, rather than through mutually exclusive classical categories.
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1 - University of Prince Edward Island, Department of Biology, 550 University Avenue, Charlottetown, PE, C1A 4P3, Canada
Keywords:
plant development
meristem
KNOX
morphological continuum.
Presentation Type: Oral Paper:Papers for Sections
Session: 19
Location: 215/SUB
Date: Monday, July 28th, 2008
Time: 2:30 PM
Number: 19005
Abstract ID:236 | 
