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JXB Advance Access published online on November 16, 2006
Journal of Experimental Botany, doi:10.1093/jxb/erl194
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© The Author [2006]. 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
Received July 7, 2006
Accepted September 8, 2006

RESEARCH PAPER

Loss of ovule identity induced by overexpression of the fertilization-related kinase 2 (ScFRK2), a MAPKKK from Solanum chacoense

Madoka Gray-Mitsumune 1 *, Martin O'Brien 1 *, Charles Bertrand 2, Faiza Tebbji 1, André Nantel 3, and Daniel P. Matton 1 *

1 Institut de recherche en biologie végétale, Département de sciences biologiques, Université de Montréal, 4101 rue Sherbrooke est, Montréal, Québec, Canada H1X 2B2
2 Département d'Anatomie-Biologie Cellulaire, Université de Sherbrooke, 3001 12ème Avenue Nord, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada J1H 5N4
3 Biotechnology Research Institute, National Research Council, 6100 Royalmount Avenue, Montréal, QC, Canada H4P 2R2

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Daniel P. Matton, E-mail: dp.matton{at}umontreal.ca


  Abstract

In order to gain information about protein kinases acting during plant fertilization and embryogenesis, a reverse genetic approach was used to determine the role of protein kinases expressed in reproductive tissues. Two cDNA clones named ScFRK1 and ScFRK2 (Solanum chacoense fertilization-related kinase 1 and 2) were isolated from an expressed sequence tag (EST) library normalized for weakly expressed genes in fertilized ovaries. These showed significant sequence similarities to members of the mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase (MAPKKK) family. RNA gel blot and RNA in situ hybridization analyses confirmed the strong up-regulation of ScFRK2 in ovules after fertilization. In addition, ScFRK2 mRNAs accumulate during early ovule development in the megasporocyte and in the integument of developing ovules. Overexpression of ScFRK2 led to the production of fruits with a severely reduced number of seeds. The seeds that were produced also exhibited developmental retardation. Analysis of ovaries prior to fertilization showed that the seedless phenotype was caused by a homeotic conversion of ovules into carpel-like structures. The present observations are consistent with the role of ScFRK2 in pre- and post-fertilization events. Furthermore, overexpression of ScFRK2 led to changes in the expression of the class D floral homeotic gene ScFBP11, suggesting that the ScFRK2 kinase may interact, directly or indirectly, with the FBP7/11 pathway that directs establishment of ovule identity.

Keywords: Carpel; fruit development; MAPKKK; ovule development; Solanaceae.

*These authors contributed equally to this work.


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