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Book of Abstracts First Legume Society Conference 2013: A Legume Odyssey Novi Sad, Serbia, 9-11 May 2013
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Genetic Analysis of Leaf Development in Pea
Morgane Eléouët 1 , Carol Moreau 2 , Julie Hofer 1 , Noel Ellis 1
1 Aberystwyth University, Institute of Biological, Environmental & Rural Sciences, Aberystwyth, UK
2 John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, UK
The Pea (Pisum sativum) leaf is characterized by a compound architecture. A mature leaf comprises
a basal pair of laminae called stipules, one or more pairs of leaflets, and terminal structures called
tendrils. Further understanding of leaf development could be provided by the molecular
characterization of leaf mutants. Several leaf morphological mutants are studied in the laboratory,
including crispoid (crd) mutants. These are characterized by abnormal stipules, a reduced number
of leaflets and weak development of veins, suggesting that the Crispoid gene is involved in the
formation of leaves. The gene PsKn2, presumed orthologous of BP in Arabidopsis thaliana,
encoding a transcription factor of the Knotted-like HomeoboxI (KNOXI) family, and maps close
to the Crispoid locus. Moreover, preliminary transcriptional data suggest that PsKn2 expression is
down regulated in crd mutants. KNOX genes have been shown to play an important role in the
maintenance of the shoot apical meristem (SAM), and in the formation of aerial organs. PsKn2
has been shown to be expressed at the peripheral zone of the SAM and at the base of leaf
primordia, but not in the mature leaf. A mutation in PsKn2 would thus be expected to have some
of the features of crispoid mutants, so PsKn2 is a candidate gene for Crispoid. Using genetic and
molecular biology tools, we are aiming to determine whether Crispoid and PsKn2 are the same
gene. Understanding the role of the Crispoid gene and its interactions with other genes will
provide a better insight into the genetics of leaf development.
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