Duplication and divergence of BRANCHED1-like genes and the evolution of the control of shoot branching in tomato

MAR MARTÍN TRILLO, EDUARDO GONZÁLEZ GRANDÍO, FRANÇOIS SERRA, MARIA LUISA RODRIGUEZ BUEY, HERNÁN DOPAZO, PILAR CUBAS

Valencia España

Conferencia; XVII Congress of the Federation of European Societies of Plant Biology (FESPB); 2010

European Societies of Plant Biology

Duplication and divergence of /BRANCHED1/-like genes and the evolution of the control of shoot branching in tomato Mar Martín Trillo, Eduardo González Grandío , François Serra , Maria Luisa Rodriguez Buey, Hernán Dopazo, Pilar Cubas Duplication and divergence of genes controlling developmental programmes are thought to have played a fundamental role in the evolution of morphological diversity. However the molecular mechanisms underlying functional divergence following duplication are still not well understood. In angiosperms, branching patterns greatly determine overall plant architecture and affect key aspects of plant life. Recent studies suggest that branch development is controlled by a conserved genetic pathway evolved before the radiation of flowering plants. However, despite the general conservation of this pathway, a wide diversity of branching patterns is found in angiosperms. /BRANCHED1/ (/BRC1) is /one of the central genes controlling branching in Arabidopsis encoding a TCP transcription factor. To investigate the relevance of the molecular evolution of /BRC1/ genes during the evolution of branching patterns, we have isolated and analyzed the function of /BRC1-/like genes in /Solanum lycopersicum/ (Solanaceae) a dicot species distantly related from Arabidopsis (Brassicaceae) and with divergent branching patterns. We have found that duplication and divergence of an ancestral /BRC1/ gene has taken place in this group. We will present our view and recent results of the molecular evolution and function of these two /BRC1/-like genes.