Micro-array analysis revealed the candidate genes involved in the development of flat and symmetric leaves

Abstract

Plant leaves are flat and symmetric organs and develop from a shoot apical meristem along three axes, proximal-distal, adaxial-abaxial and medial-lateral axes. The asymmetric leaves2 (as2) and as1 mutants of Arabidopsis thaliana show similar phenotypes with asymmetrical lobes along the leaf margin and with asymmetrically and downwardly curled leaves. Previously, we and other groups showed that both of AS2 and AS1 repress the class 1 KNOX genes, BP, KNAT2 and KNAT6. To know the genes regulated by AS2 and AS1, microarray analysis was done. On the basis of expression profiles of wild-type, as2-1, as1-1, as2-1/pAS1::AS2, which overexpresses AS2, and 35S::AS1, 22,746 genes were classified. The levels of BP and the genes in the same class as BP were decreased in the as2-1 and as1-1 mutants and were increased in the as2-1/pAS1::AS2 and 35S::AS1 plants. The expression of these genes may be regulated by both of AS2 and AS1.