Suspensor-derived polyembryony caused by altered expression of valyl-tRNA synthetase in the twn2 mutant of Arabidopsis.

ABSTRACT: The twn2 mutant of Arabidopsis exhibits a defect in early embryogenesis where, following one or two divisions of the zygote, the decendents of the apical cell arrest. The basal cells that normally give rise to the suspensor proliferate abnormally, giving rise to multiple embryos. A high proportion of the seeds fail to develop viable embryos, and those that do, contain a high proportion of partially or completely duplicated embryos. The adult plants are smaller and less vigorous than the wild type and have a severely stunted root. The twn2-1 mutation, which is the only known allele, was caused by a T-DNA insertion in the 5' untranslated region of a putative valyl-tRNA synthetase gene, valRS. The insertion causes reduced transcription of the valRS gene in reproductive tissues and developing

SUBMITTER: Zhang JZ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC23824 | biostudies-literature | 1997 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature