What Has Natural Variation Taught Us about Plant Development, Physiology, and Adaptation?

Nearly 100 genes and functional polymorphisms underlying natural variation in plant development and physiology have been identified. In crop plants, these include genes involved in domestication traits, such as those related to plant architecture, fruit and seed structure and morphology, as well as...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Plant cell 2009-07, Vol.21 (7), p.1877-1896
Main Authors: Alonso-Blanco, Carlos, Aarts, Mark G. M., Bentsink, Leonie, Keurentjes, Joost J. B., Reymond, Matthieu, Vreugdenhil, Dick, Koornneef, Maarten
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alleles
allelic variation
amino-acid polymorphisms
arabidopsis-thaliana
cape-verde islands
controlling seed dormancy
Domestication
Evolutionary genetics
flowering-time genes
Gene Expression Regulation, Plant - genetics
Gene Expression Regulation, Plant - physiology
Genes
Genetic loci
Genetic variation
Genetic Variation - genetics
Genetic Variation - physiology
Models, Biological
Phenotypic traits
Physiology
Plant breeding
Plant Development
Plant genetics
Plant growth
Plant Physiological Phenomena - genetics
Plants
Plants - genetics
Polymorphism, Genetic - genetics
Polymorphism, Genetic - physiology
Quantitative trait loci
recombinant inbred lines
Review
Rice
rice oryza-sativa
transcription factor
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Summary:Nearly 100 genes and functional polymorphisms underlying natural variation in plant development and physiology have been identified. In crop plants, these include genes involved in domestication traits, such as those related to plant architecture, fruit and seed structure and morphology, as well as yield and quality traits improved by subsequent crop breeding. In wild plants, comparable traits have been dissected mainly in Arabidopsis thaliana. In this review, we discuss the major contributions of the analysis of natural variation to our understanding of plant development and physiology, focusing in particular on the timing of germination and flowering, plant growth and morphology, primary metabolism, and mineral accumulation. Overall, functional polymorphisms appear in all types of genes and gene regions, and they may have multiple mutational causes. However, understanding this diversity in relation to adaptation and environmental variation is a challenge for which tools are now available.
ISSN:1040-4651
1532-298X
DOI:10.1105/tpc.109.068114