A role of ASYMMETRIC LEAVES2 protein in morphogenesis of leaves in Arabidopsis:The relationship between its nuclear localization and function

Abstract

ASYMMETRIC LEAVES2 gene is one of key regulators of morphogenesis of leaves in Arabidopsis thaliana. It encodes a protein with a AS2/LOB domain that consists of the C-motif, the conserved glycine residue and the leucine-zipper-like sequence. The AS2/LOB domain includes a short stretch of basic residues in the C-motif. The AS2 protein localized to a sub-nuclear body that is adjacent to nucleoli and we designated this body as the AS2 body. In order to identify the signal in AS2 required for the localization to the AS2 body, we have made DNA constructs that encoded mutant AS2 proteins with various deletions and amino acid substitutions in the AS2/LOB domain and we have investigated sub-nuclear localization of the mutant proteins. We also have examined whether the localization to the AS2 body might be required for AS2 function in morphogenesis of leaves. We will present latest results of these experiments.