Abstract
In Arabidopsis, a floral meristem identity gene LFY plays a central role in flower development. LFY encodes a plant-specific transcription factor and promotes the expression of floral homeotic genes, most of which encode a MADS-box protein. To investigate the ancestral role of FLO/LFY, we isolated a FLO/LFY homolog,designated MpLFY, from the liverwort (Marchantia polymorpha). Over-expression and RNAi transgenic liverwort lines were generated and their phenotype is currently being analyzed to investigate the function of MpLFY.
RT-PCR analysis revealed that MpLFY and two MADS-box genes are expressed in gemmae, thalli and sexual organs. Expression in sporophytes is to be examined. Regulatory relationship between MpLFY and these two MADS-box genes are currently being investigated through the analysis of their expression pattern in detail.
In addition to analyses in liverwort, we tested whether Arabidopsis lfy mutant is complemented by over-expression of MpLFY.
