Abstract
Lateral shoot from axillary meristem (AM) on axil of leaves is an important organ to construct diverse bodies adapting to various environmental conditions. To make clear the molecular mechanism of AM-formation, we analyzed novel Arabidopsis semi-dominant mutant uni-1d. The uni-1d heterozygote looked like a sea urchin, named U-NI in Japanese, due to many short lateral shoot forming in axil of vegetative leaves and cotyledon. UNI encoded a novel NBS-LRR family protein and uni-1d has missense mutation causing a gain-of-function. Protein of this family has been understood as involving only disease resistance. Indeed, pathogen related genes are expressed strongly in uni-1d, suggesting uni-1d showed constitutive defense response. These results suggest that UNI may involve in both AM-formation and defense response.
