Int. J. Dev. Biol. 45: S61 - S62 (2001)

Vol 45, Issue S1

Genetic architecture of leaf morphogenesis in Arabidopsis thaliana

Published: 1 June 2001

P Robles, JM Perez-Perez, H Candela, V Quesada, JM Barrero, S Jover-Gil, MR Ponce, JL Micol

Univ Miguel Hernandez, Div Genet, Alicante 03202, Spain; Univ Miguel Hernandez, Inst Bioingn, Alicante 03202, Spain

Abstract

In an attempt to identify genes involved in leaf morphogenesis in Arabidopsis thaliana, we screened for new mutants showing abnormal leaves and conducted genetic analyses of already obtained mutants. Our large-scale mutant search, which got close to but did not reach saturation of the genome, showed that the lines obtained fell into 94 complementation groups. Many of these genes were mapped using a high-throughput linkage analysis method, based on the simultaneous PCR coamplification of 21 polymorphic microsatellites and the fluorescent semiautomated detection of their products. In addition, in an attempt to ascertain wether intraspecific variability might be a source of information on the genetic controls underlying plant leaf morphogenesis, we analyzed variations in the architecture of vegetative leaves in a large sample of Arabidopsis thaliana natural races, concluding that such morphological traits are unlikely to develop under monogenic controls. Hence, a mapping population of the recombinant inbred lines of Lister and Dean was analyzed to identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) harboring naturally occurring alleles that contribute to natural variations in leaf architecture and to eventually correlate their intervals with the map positions of genes identified by mutation.

Keywords

Mutants, genome