Formation of a Symmetric Flat Leaf Lamina in Arabidopsis

Abstract

The ASYMMETRIC LEAVESI (AS1) and ASYMMETRIC LEAVES2 (AS2) genes of Arabidopsis thatiana are involved in the establishment of the leaf venation system, which includes the prominent midvein, as well as in the development of a symmetric lamina. The gene product also represses the expression of class 1 knox homeobox genes in leaves. We have characterized the AS2 gene, which appears to encode a novel protein with cysteine repeats (designated the C-motif), conserved glycine, and a leucine-zipper-like sequence in the amino-terminal half of the primary sequence. The Arabidopsis genome contains 42 putative genes that potentially encode proteins with conserved amino acid sequences in the amino-terminal half. Thus, the AS2 protein belongs to a novel family of proteins that we have designated the AS2 family. Members of this family except AS2 also have been designated ASLs (AS2-like proteins). Overexpression of AS2 cDNA in transgenic Arabidopsis plants resulted in upwardly curled leaves, which differed markedly from the downwardly curled leaves generated by loss-of-function mutation of AS2. Our results suggest that AS2 functions in the transcription of a certain gene(s) in plant nuclei and thereby controls the formation of a symmetric flat leaf lamina and the establishment of a prominent midvein and other patterns of venation.