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JXB Advance Access published online on August 28, 2007
Journal of Experimental Botany, doi:10.1093/jxb/erm146
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© The Author [2007]. Published by Oxford University Press [on behalf of the Society for Experimental Biology]. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

RESEARCH PAPER

The Arabidopsis 3-ketoacyl-CoA thiolase-2 (kat2-1) mutant exhibits increased flowering but reduced reproductive success

Steven Footitt1,2,* {dagger}, Johanna E. Cornah1, Itsara Pracharoenwattana3, James H. Bryce4 and Steven M. Smith3

1Institute of Cell and Molecular Biology, University of Edinburgh, Mayfield Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JH, UK
2Crop Performance and Improvement Division, Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, Hertfordshire AL5 2JQ, UK
3ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia
4International Centre for Brewing and Distilling, Heriot-Watt University, Riccarton, Edinburgh EH14 4AS, UK

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: S.Footitt{at}warwick.ac.uk

The enzyme 3-ketoacyl-CoA thiolase (KAT) (EC 2.3.1.16 [EC] ) catalyses a key step in fatty acid ß-oxidation. In Arabidopsis thaliana, expression of the KAT2 gene is known to be required for the efficient mobilization of triacylglycerol during germination and seedling establishment. Here, data from the Arabidopsis kat2-1 mutant are presented, showing that perturbation of ß-oxidation also affects vegetative growth and reproductive success. In the wild type, the KAT2 protein was detected in all organs tested. In the kat2-1 mutant, rosette leaf area and dry weight, but not leaf number, were greatly increased relative to wild type. Global proliferative arrest of flowering was delayed, resulting in increased silique production in kat2-1 plants. However, total silique dry weight was not increased. kat2-1 siliques were smaller and had a reduced seed number caused by increased ovule abortion. In kat2-1 ovules, carbon flow into sugars via gluconeogeneis and respiration were both reduced in comparison to the wild type. In conclusion, these data indicate that a functional ß-oxidation pathway is required to maintain the balance between silique development and the continued initiation of floral meristems.

Key words: Arabidopsis, beta-oxidation, embryogenesis, flowering, lipid mobilization, peroxisome, respiration

{dagger} Present address: Warwick HRI, University of Warwick, Wellesbourne, Warwick CV35 9EF, UK.

Received 13 December 2006; Revised 23 May 2007 Accepted 31 May 2007


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