Abstract Detail

Comparative Genomics/Transcriptomics

Rajewski, Alex [1], Maheepala, Dinusha [2], Henry, Ashley [3], Elkins, Kevan [4], Litt, Amy [4].

Identification of Conserved Regulatory Modules in Dry and Fleshy Fruit Development.

In the nightshade family (Solanaceae) there has been an evolutionary transition from an ancestral dry to a derived fleshy fruit, correlated with the divergence of the subfamily Solanoideae. To begin to understand the genetic basis of the transition, we are using a combination of transcriptome sequencing and targeted CRISPR knockouts of orthologues of the Arabidopsis transcription factor FRUITFULL. FRUITFULL is known from studies of Arabidopsis and tobacco to help pattern the dehiscence zone of fruits, but also plays a role in leaf shape and bolting. Previously, we performed RNA-seq on a developmental series of pericarps from wild-type cultivated tomato, Solanum lycopersicum, and its closest wild relative, S. pimpinellifolium. By identifying corresponding developmental stages, I have now extended this transcriptome sequencing work into dry-fruited desert tobacco (Nicotiana obtusifolia). I have also successfully generated CRISPR mutants in two of the four homologues of FRUITFULL in desert tobacco and will be reporting on preliminary phenotypes. Clustering of gene expression profiles from wild-type data shows suites of genes with similar patterns and suggests a common regulatory control. These regulatory modules will allow us to look for conservation in the genetic regulation of fruit development in other species with different histories of fruit evolution and in plant groups with similar fruit-type transitions.

1 - UC Riverside, Botany And Plant Science, 900 University Ave, Batchelor Hall, Riverside, CA, 92521, United States
2 - University Of California, Botany And Plant Sciences, 3149 Batchelor Hall, Riverside, CA, 92521, United States
3 - University of Wisconsin, Madison, Department of Botany, B135 Birge Hall, Madison, WI, 53706, USA
4 - University of California, Riverside, 900 University Ave, Riverside, CA, 92521, United States

Keywords:
Solanaceae
Tobacco
Tomato
Transcriptome
Transcription factor
evolution
Fruit Development.

Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: CG1, Comparative Genetics/Genomics I
Location: Tucson I/Starr Pass
Date: Tuesday, July 30th, 2019
Time: 9:30 AM
Number: CG1005
Abstract ID:201
Candidate for Awards:Margaret Menzel Award