BLADE-ON-PETIOLE interacts with CYCLOIDEA to fine-tune CYCLOIDEA -mediated flower symmetry in monkeyflowers ( Mimulus )

• Published in: Science advances 2024-08, Vol.10 (33), p.eado4571
• Main Authors: Gao, Yuan, Li, Jingjian, He, Jiayue, Yu, Yaqi, Qian, Zexin, Geng, Zhiqiang, Yang, Liuhui, Zhang, Yumin, Ke, Yujie, Lin, Qiaoshan, Wang, Jing, Chen, Sumei, Chen, Fadi, Yuan, Yao-Wu, Ding, Baoqing
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Alleles; Biomedicine and Life Sciences; DNA-Binding Proteins; Flowers - genetics; Flowers - metabolism; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; Mimulus - genetics; Mimulus - metabolism; Mutation; Phenotype; Plant Proteins - genetics; Plant Proteins - metabolism; Plant Sciences; Protein Binding; SciAdv r-articles; Transcription Factors; Ubiquitination
• ISSN: 2375-2548; 2375-2548
• DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.ado4571

Morphological novelties, or key innovations, are instrumental to the diversification of the organisms. In plants, one such innovation is the evolution of zygomorphic flowers, which is thought to promote outcrossing and increase flower morphological diversity. We isolated three allelic mutants from two species displaying altered floral symmetry and identified the causal gene as the ortholog of . We found that MlBOP and MlCYC2A physically interact and this BOP-CYC interaction module is highly conserved across the angiosperms. Furthermore, MlBOP self-ubiquitinates and suppresses self-activation. MlCYC2A, in turn, impedes MlBOP ubiquitination. Thus, this molecular tug-of-war between MlBOP and MlCYC2A fine-tunes the expression of , contributing to the formation of bilateral symmetry in flowers, a key trait in angiosperm evolution.