FRUITFULL Is a Repressor of Apical Hook Opening in <i>Arabidopsis thaliana</i>

• Main Authors: Miriam Führer, Angelika Gaidora, Peter Venhuizen, Jedrzej Dobrogojski, Chloé Béziat, Mugurel I Feraru, Jürgen Kleine-Vehn, Maria Kalyna, Elke Barbez
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-09-01
• Series: International Journal of Molecular Sciences
• Subjects: apical hook opening; <i>AGAMOUS-LIKE8</i>; <i>FRUITFULL</i>; IAA; light
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/21/17/6438
• ISSN: 1661-6596; 1422-0067

Plants adjust their architecture to a constantly changing environment, requiring adaptation of differential growth. Despite their importance, molecular switches, which define growth transitions, are largely unknown. Apical hook development in dark grown <i>Arabidopsis thaliana</i> (<i>A. thaliana)</i> seedlings serves as a suitable model for differential growth transition in plants. Here, we show that the phytohormone auxin counteracts the light-induced growth transition during apical hook opening. We, subsequently, identified genes which are inversely regulated by light and auxin. We used in silico analysis of the regulatory elements in this set of genes and subsequently used natural variation in gene expression to uncover correlations between underlying transcription factors and the in silico predicted target genes. This approach uncovered that MADS box transcription factor <i>AGAMOUS-LIKE 8 (AGL8)/FRUITFULL (FUL)</i> modulates apical hook opening. Our data shows that transient <i>FUL</i> expression represses the expression of growth stimulating genes during early phases of apical hook development and therewith guards the transition to growth promotion for apical hook opening. Here, we propose a role for FUL in setting tissue identity, thereby regulating differential growth during apical hook development.