An ancient and conserved function for Armadillo-related proteins in the control of spore and seed germination by abscisic acid.

ABSTRACT: Armadillo-related proteins regulate development throughout eukaryotic kingdoms. In the flowering plant Arabidopsis thaliana, Armadillo-related ARABIDILLO proteins promote multicellular root branching. ARABIDILLO homologues exist throughout land plants, including early-diverging species lacking true roots, suggesting that early-evolving ARABIDILLOs had additional biological roles. Here we investigated, using molecular genetics, the conservation and diversification of ARABIDILLO protein function in plants separated by c. 450 million years of evolution. We demonstrate that ARABIDILLO homologues in the moss Physcomitrella patens regulate a previously undiscovered inhibitory effect of abscisic acid (ABA) on spore germination. Furthermore, we show that A. thaliana ARABIDILLOs function similarly

SUBMITTER: Moody LA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4982054 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature