Control of final organ size by Mediator complex subunit 25 in Arabidopsis thaliana

Abstract

Control of organ size by cell proliferation and cell expansion is a fundamental developmental process, but the mechanisms that establish the final size of organs and whole organisms remain elusive in plants and animals. We have previously demonstrated that DA1, which encodes a predicted ubiquitin receptor, controls the final size of seeds and organs by restricting cell proliferation in Arabidopsis. Through a genetic screen for mutations that enhance the floral organ size of da1-1, we have identified an enhancer of da1-1 (eod8-1). The eod8-1 mutation was identified, using a map-based cloning approach, in Mediator complex subunit 25 (MED25; also known as PFT1), which is involved in the transcriptional regulation of gene expression. Loss-of-function mutants in MED25 form large organs, with larger and slightly increased numbers of cells as a result of an increased period of cell proliferation and cell expansion, whereas plants overexpressing MED25 have small organs owing to decreases in both cell number and cell size. Our genetic and physiological data suggest that MED25 acts to limit cell and organ growth independently of MED25-mediated phytochrome signaling and the jasmonate pathway. Genetic analyses show that MED25 functions redundantly with DA1 to control organ growth by restricting cell proliferation. Collectively, our findings show that MED25 plays a crucial role in setting final organ size, suggesting that it constitutes an important point of regulation in plant organ size control within the transcriptional machinery.