Tracing the Evolution of the SEPALLATA Subfamily across Angiosperms Associated with Neo- and Sub-Functionalization for Reproductive and Agronomically Relevant Traits

SEPALLATA-driven MADS transcription factor tetramerization is required for inner whorl floral organ development

MADS transcription factors are master regulators of plant reproduction and flower development. The SEPALLATA (SEP) subfamily of MADS transcription factors is required for the development of floral organs and plays roles in inflorescence architecture and development of the floral meristem. SEPALLATAs act as organizers of MADS complexes, forming both heterodimers and heterotetramers in vitro. To date, the MADS complexes characterized in angiosperm floral organ development contain at least 1 SEPALLATA protein. Whether DNA binding by SEPALLATA-containing dimeric MADS complexes is sufficient for launching floral organ identity programs, however, is not clear as only defects in floral meristem determinacy were observed in tetramerization-impaired SEPALLATA mutant proteins. Here, we used a combination of genome-wide-binding studies, high-resolution structural studies of the SEP3/AGAMOUS (AG) tetramerization domain, structure-based mutagenesis and complementation experiments in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) sep1 sep2 sep3 and sep1 sep2 sep3 ag-4 plants transformed with versions of SEP3 encoding tetramerization mutants. We demonstrate that while SEP3 heterodimers can bind DNA both in vitro and in vivo and recognize the majority of SEP3 wild-type-binding sites genome-wide, tetramerization is required not only for floral meristem determinacy but also for floral organ identity in the second, third, and fourth whorls.

Exploring the patterns of evolution: Core thoughts and focus on the saltational model

The Modern Synthesis, a pillar in biological thought, united Darwin's species origin concepts with Mendel's laws of character heredity, providing a comprehensive understanding of evolution within species. Highlighting phenotypic variation and natural selection, it elucidated the environment's role as a selective force, shaping populations over time. This framework integrated additional mechanisms, including genetic drift, random mutations, and gene flow, predicting their cumulative effects on microevolution and the emergence of new species. Beyond the Modern Synthesis, the Extended Evolutionary Synthesis expands perspectives by recognizing the role of developmental plasticity, non-genetic inheritance, and epigenetics. We suggest that these aspects coexist in the plant evolutionary process; in this context, we focus on the saltational model, emphasizing how saltation events, such as dichotomous saltation, chromosomal mutations, epigenetic phenomena, and polyploidy, contribute to rapid evolutionary changes. The saltational model proposes that certain evolutionary changes, such as the rise of new species, may result suddenly from single macromutations rather than from gradual changes in DNA sequences and allele frequencies within a species over time. These events, observed in domesticated and wild higher plants, provide well-defined mechanistic bases, revealing their profound impact on plant diversity and rapid evolutionary events. Notably, next-generation sequencing exposes the likely crucial role of allopolyploidy and autopolyploidy (saltational events) in generating new plant species, each characterized by distinct chromosomal complements. In conclusion, through this review, we offer a thorough exploration of the ongoing dissertation on the saltational model, elucidating its implications for our understanding of plant evolutionary processes and paving the way for continued research in this intriguing field.

Tapping into the plasticity of plant architecture for increased stress resilience

Plant architecture develops post-embryonically and emerges from a dialogue between the developmental signals and environmental cues. Length and branching of the vegetative and reproductive tissues were the focus of improvement of plant performance from the early days of plant breeding. Current breeding priorities are changing, as we need to prioritize plant productivity under increasingly challenging environmental conditions. While it has been widely recognized that plant architecture changes in response to the environment, its contribution to plant productivity in the changing climate remains to be fully explored. This review will summarize prior discoveries of genetic control of plant architecture traits and their effect on plant performance under environmental stress. We review new tools in phenotyping that will guide future discoveries of genes contributing to plant architecture, its plasticity, and its contributions to stress resilience. Subsequently, we provide a perspective into how integrating the study of new species, modern phenotyping techniques, and modeling can lead to discovering new genetic targets underlying the plasticity of plant architecture and stress resilience. Altogether, this review provides a new perspective on the plasticity of plant architecture and how it can be harnessed for increased performance under environmental stress.

The ABC of Flower Development in Monocots: The Model of Rice Spikelet

The initial seminal studies of flower developmental genetics were made from observations in several eudicot model species, particularly Arabidopsis and Antirrhinum. However, an increasing amount of research in monocot model and crop species is finally giving the credit that monocots deserve for their position in the evolutionary history of Angiosperms, their astonishing diversification and adaptation, their diversified floral structures, their pivotal function in most ecosystems on Earth and, finally, their importance in agriculture and farming, economy, landscaping and feeding mankind. Rice is a staple crop and the major monocot model to study the reproductive phase and flower evolution. Inspired by this, this chapter reviews a story of highly conserved functions related to the ABC model of flower development. Nevertheless, this model is complicated in rice by cases of gene neofunctionalization, like the recruitment of MADS-box genes for the development of the unique organs known as lemma and palea, subfunctionalization, and rewiring of conserved molecular pathways.