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Riglet L, Zardilis A, Fairnie ALM, Yeo MT, Jönsson H, Moyroud E. Hibiscus bullseyes reveal mechanisms controlling petal pattern proportions that influence plant-pollinator interactions. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2024; 10:eadp5574. [PMID: 39270029 PMCID: PMC11397502 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adp5574] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2024] [Accepted: 08/07/2024] [Indexed: 09/15/2024]
Abstract
Colorful flower patterns are key signals to attract pollinators. To produce such motifs, plants specify boundaries dividing petals into subdomains where cells develop distinctive pigmentations, shapes, and textures. While some transcription factors and biosynthetic pathways behind these characteristics are well studied, the upstream processes restricting their activities to specific petal regions remain enigmatic. Here, we unveil that the petal surface of Hibiscus trionum, an emerging model featuring a bullseye on its corolla, is prepatterned as the bullseye boundary position is specified long before it becomes visible. Using a computational model, we explore how pattern proportions are maintained while petals experience a 100-fold size increase. Exploiting transgenic lines and natural variants, we show that plants can regulate boundary position during the prepatterning phase or modulate growth on either side of this boundary later in development to vary bullseye proportions. Such modifications are functionally relevant, as buff-tailed bumblebees can reliably identify food sources based on bullseye size and prefer certain pattern proportions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucie Riglet
- The Sainsbury Laboratory, University of Cambridge, 47 Bateman Street, Cambridge CB2 1LR, UK
| | - Argyris Zardilis
- The Sainsbury Laboratory, University of Cambridge, 47 Bateman Street, Cambridge CB2 1LR, UK
| | - Alice L M Fairnie
- The Sainsbury Laboratory, University of Cambridge, 47 Bateman Street, Cambridge CB2 1LR, UK
| | - May T Yeo
- The Sainsbury Laboratory, University of Cambridge, 47 Bateman Street, Cambridge CB2 1LR, UK
- Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EH, UK
| | - Henrik Jönsson
- The Sainsbury Laboratory, University of Cambridge, 47 Bateman Street, Cambridge CB2 1LR, UK
- Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 0WA, UK
- Department of Astronomy and Theoretical Physics, Computational Biology and Biological Physics, Lund University, Lund 223 62, Sweden
| | - Edwige Moyroud
- The Sainsbury Laboratory, University of Cambridge, 47 Bateman Street, Cambridge CB2 1LR, UK
- Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EH, UK
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Fairnie ALM, Yeo MTS, Gatti S, Chan E, Travaglia V, Walker JF, Moyroud E. Eco-Evo-Devo of petal pigmentation patterning. Essays Biochem 2022; 66:753-768. [PMID: 36205404 PMCID: PMC9750854 DOI: 10.1042/ebc20220051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2022] [Revised: 09/09/2022] [Accepted: 09/13/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Colourful spots, stripes and rings decorate the corolla of most flowering plants and fulfil important biotic and abiotic functions. Spatial differences in the pigmentation of epidermal cells can create these patterns. The last few years have yielded new data that have started to illuminate the mechanisms controlling the function, formation and evolution of petal patterns. These advances have broad impacts beyond the immediate field as pigmentation patterns are wonderful systems to explore multiscale biological problems: from understanding how cells make decisions at the microscale to examining the roots of biodiversity at the macroscale. These new results also reveal there is more to petal patterning than meets the eye, opening up a brand new area of investigation. In this mini-review, we summarise our current knowledge on the Eco-Evo-Devo of petal pigmentation patterns and discuss some of the most exciting yet unanswered questions that represent avenues for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alice L M Fairnie
- The Sainsbury Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Bateman Street, Cambridge CB2 1LR, U.K
| | - May T S Yeo
- The Sainsbury Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Bateman Street, Cambridge CB2 1LR, U.K
- Department of Genetics, Downing Site, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, U.K
| | - Stefano Gatti
- The Sainsbury Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Bateman Street, Cambridge CB2 1LR, U.K
| | - Emily Chan
- The Sainsbury Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Bateman Street, Cambridge CB2 1LR, U.K
| | - Valentina Travaglia
- The Sainsbury Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Bateman Street, Cambridge CB2 1LR, U.K
| | - Joseph F Walker
- The Sainsbury Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Bateman Street, Cambridge CB2 1LR, U.K
| | - Edwige Moyroud
- The Sainsbury Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Bateman Street, Cambridge CB2 1LR, U.K
- Department of Genetics, Downing Site, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, U.K
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