The types of flower organs in plants are limited, but they show rich diversity in size, shape, structure and color. Identifying and comparing the target genes of the identity genes of flower organs in different species is the key to understand the molecular mechanism of flower organ commonness and characteristic formation. However, due to the limited research on a few species, the overall situation of the regulatory evolution between identity genes and target genes in flower organs is not clear.

The target genes of aqAP3-3 were identified by using chip-Seq technique and bioinformation method from buttercup blue flower Columbine. It was found that the conserved sequences of AQAP3-3 binding on the genome were CArG box type, mostly located in the target gene promoter region. Aqap3-3 and Arabidopsis AP3 share highly conserved target genes in evolution, which mainly determine the traits related to petal identity. Most of the unconserved target genes are involved in the formation of specific traits, such as the spacing of blue flower columbine, nectary, surface coat and petal color. These results suggest that the recruitment of petal identity genes to existing regulatory networks or the establishment of new regulatory relationships in different species are the main reasons for the diversification of petal morphological structure. The results of this study not only provide the basis for the understanding of petal commonness and characteristics, but also provide a new idea for the study of the regulatory evolution between identity genes and target genes in flower organs.

Time：2020.06.11

Source: http://www.cas.cn/syky/202006/t20200609_4749479.shtml