Abstract
Leaves develop as lateral organs from shoot apical meristem (SAM). And the cells of the SAM resemble stem cells in that they have the capacity for self-regulation and remain in an undifferentiated state. The genome sequence of Arabidopsis has revealed 4 members of class 1 knox genes, STM, KNAT1/BP and KNAT2 and KNAT6. Though it is proposed that these genes have important functions for the maintenance of the SAM, the details are not clarified. No loss-of-function mutation in KNAT6 has been described. To elucidate the function of KNAT2 and KNAT6, we identified the T-DNA insertion allele of KNAT2 and KNAT6, and analyzed these phenotypes and the expression pattern of KNAT6 at the inflorescence stem using KNAT6 promoter::GUS transgenic plants. Genetic interaction among class 1 knox genes will be discussed.
