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Science 14 November 2008:
Vol. 322. no. 5904, pp. 1116 - 1119
DOI: 10.1126/science.1164371
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Reports

Regulatory Genes Control a Key Morphological and Ecological Trait Transferred Between Species

Minsung Kim,1,3* Min-Long Cui,1* Pilar Cubas,1,4* Amanda Gillies,2 Karen Lee,1 Mark A. Chapman,2,5 Richard J. Abbott,2 Enrico Coen1{dagger}

Hybridization between species can lead to introgression of genes from one species to another, providing a potential mechanism for preserving and recombining key traits during evolution. To determine the molecular basis of such transfers, we analyzed a natural polymorphism for flower-head development in Senecio. We show that the polymorphism arose by introgression of a cluster of regulatory genes, the RAY locus, from the diploid species S. squalidus into the tetraploid S. vulgaris. The RAY genes are expressed in the peripheral regions of the inflorescence meristem, where they promote flower asymmetry and lead to an increase in the rate of outcrossing. Our results highlight how key morphological and ecological traits controlled by regulatory genes may be gained, lost, and regained during evolution.

1 Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, John Innes Centre, Colney Lane, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK.
2 School of Biology, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews KY16 9TH, UK.
3 Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PT, UK.
4 Centro Nacional de Biotecnología/CSIC, Darwin 3, Campus UAM, 28049 Madrid, Spain.
5 Department of Plant Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA.

* These authors contributed equally to this work.

{dagger} To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: enrico.coen{at}bbsrc.ac.uk.

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THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Flowering Newsletter bibliography for 2008.
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Duplications and Expression of DIVARICATA-Like Genes in Dipsacales.
D. G. Howarth and M. J. Donoghue (2009)
Mol. Biol. Evol. 26, 1245-1258
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