Mutations in the pale aleurone color1 regulatory gene of the Zea mays anthocyanin pathway have distinct phenotypes relative to the functionally similar TRANSPARENT TESTA GLABRA1 gene in Arabidopsis thaliana

• Published in: The Plant cell Vol. 16; no. 2; pp. 450 - 464
• Main Authors: Carey, C.C, Strahle, J.T, Selinger, D.A, Chandler, V.L
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England American Society of Plant Biologists 01-02-2004
• Subjects: Alleles; Amino Acid Sequence; amino acid sequences; anthocyanins; Anthocyanins - metabolism; Arabidopsis - genetics; Arabidopsis - metabolism; Arabidopsis Proteins - genetics; Arabidopsis Proteins - metabolism; Arabidopsis thaliana; binding proteins; biosynthesis; Cell Surface Extensions - genetics; Cell Surface Extensions - physiology; Corn; DNA Transposable Elements - genetics; gene duplication; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; Genes; Genetic Complementation Test; Genetic loci; loci; messenger RNA; Molecular Sequence Data; mutants; Mutation; nucleotide sequences; pac1 locus; pale aleurone color1 gene; Petunia; Petunia hybrida; Phenotype; Phenotypes; Phylogeny; Pigmentation; Plant cells; plant proteins; Plant Proteins - genetics; Plant Proteins - metabolism; Plant Roots - genetics; Plant Roots - metabolism; Plants; regulator genes; regulatory proteins; Repetitive Sequences, Amino Acid - genetics; Repetitive Sequences, Amino Acid - physiology; RNA; RNA, Messenger - genetics; RNA, Messenger - metabolism; roots; seedlings; seeds; Seeds - genetics; Seeds - metabolism; Sequence Alignment; Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; transcription (genetics); transgenic plants; Trichomes; Zea mays; Zea mays - genetics; Zea mays - metabolism
• ISSN: 1040-4651; 1532-298X; 1532-298X
• DOI: 10.1105/tpc.018796

The pale aleurone color1 (pac1) locus, required for anthocyanin pigment in the aleurone and scutellum of the Zea mays (maize) seed, was cloned using Mutator transposon tagging. pac1 encodes a WD40 repeat protein closely related to anthocyanin regulatory proteins ANTHOCYANIN11 (AN11) (Petunia hybrida [petunia]) and TRANSPARENT TESTA GLABRA1 (TTG1) (Arabidopsis thaliana). Introduction of a 35S-Pac1 transgene into A. thaliana complemented multiple ttg1 mutant phenotypes, including ones nonexistent in Z. mays. Hybridization of Z. mays genomic BAC clones with the pac1 sequence identified an additional related gene, mp1. PAC1 and MP1 deduced protein sequences were used as queries to build a phylogenetic tree of homologous WD40 repeat proteins, revealing an ancestral gene duplication leading to two clades in plants, the PAC1 clade and the MP1 clade. Subsequent duplications within each clade have led to additional WD40 repeat proteins in particular species, with all mutants defective in anthocyanin expression contained in the PAC1 clade. Substantial differences in pac1, an11, and ttg1 mutant phenotypes suggest the evolutionary divergence of regulatory mechanisms for several traits that cannot be ascribed solely to divergence of the dicot and monocot protein sequences.