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First published online April 13, 2007

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The shape of attraction

Petal colour intensity is an adaptation that flowering plants have made to lure pollinating insects. A conical-shaped petal epidermal cell has increased colour intensity because more incidental light is reflected into it. MIXTA, a MYB-related transcription factor, regulates conical cell shape development in snapdragon (Antirrhinum majus) petals. Cathie Martin and co-workers report that proteins closely related to MIXTA from both A. majus and other angiosperms have similar, but distinct, roles in petal epidermal cell shape formation (p. 1691). Cell shape contributes to the overall petal curvature, and thus flower shape, a role not previously associated with MIXTA-like proteins. Using genetic mutants from snapdragon and petunia (Petunia hybrida), the authors reveal the occurrence of flatter epidermal cells in mixta mutants and of shallow, conically shaped cells in petunia phmyb1 mutants. They propose that an altered direction of growth, followed by growth extension, generates cell shape in this setting. This family of transcription factors, in modifying the petal epidermal cell shape, fulfil a crucial role in attracting insects, thus ensuring pollination.

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Control of cell and petal morphogenesis by R2R3 MYB transcription factors

Kim Baumann, Maria Perez-Rodriguez, Desmond Bradley, Julien Venail, Paul Bailey, Hailing Jin, Ronald Koes, Keith Roberts, and Cathie Martin
Development 2007 134: 1691-1701. [Abstract] [Full Text]  

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Related articles in Development Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?