Identification of Mendel's White Flower Character
Roger P. Hellens1, Carol Moreau2, Kui Lin-Wang1, Kathy E. Schwinn3, Susan J. Thomson4, Mark W. E. J. Fiers4, Tonya J. Frew4, Sarah R. Murray4, Julie M. I. Hofer2, Jeanne M. E. Jacobs4, Kevin M. Davies3, Andrew C. Allan1, Abdelhafid Bendahmane5, Clarice J. Coyne6, Gail M. Timmerman-Vaughan4, T. H. Noel Ellis2*
1 The New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand, 2 Department of Crop Genetics, John Innes Centre, Norwich, United Kingdom, 3 The New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Ltd, Palmerston North, New Zealand, 4 The New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Ltd, Christchurch, New Zealand, 5 URGV, Evry, France, 6United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service Western Regional Plant Introduction Station, Pullman, Washington, United States of America
Abstract
Background
The genetic regulation of flower color has been widely studied, notably as a character used by Mendel and his predecessors in the study of inheritance in pea.
Methodology/Principal Findings
We used the genome sequence of model legumes, together with their known synteny to the pea genome to identify candidate genes for the A and A2 loci in pea. We then used a combination of genetic mapping, fast neutron mutant analysis, allelic diversity, transcript quantification and transient expression complementation studies to confirm the identity of the candidates.
Conclusions/Significance
We have identified the pea genes A and A2. A is the factor determining anthocyanin pigmentation in pea that was used by Gregor Mendel 150 years ago in his study of inheritance. The A gene encodes a bHLH transcription factor. The white flowered mutant allele most likely used by Mendel is a simple G to A transition in a splice donor site that leads to a mis-spliced mRNA with a premature stop codon, and we have identified a second rare mutant allele. The A2 gene encodes a WD40 protein that is part of an evolutionarily conserved regulatory complex.
Citation: Hellens RP, Moreau C, Lin-Wang K, Schwinn KE, Thomson SJ, et al. (2010) Identification of Mendel's White Flower Character. PLoS ONE 5(10): e13230. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0013230
Editor: Gregory P. Copenhaver, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, United States of America
Received: June 24, 2010; Accepted: September 1, 2010; Published: October 11, 2010
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Public Domain declaration which stipulates that, once placed in the public domain, this work may be freely reproduced, distributed, transmitted, modified, built upon, or otherwise used by anyone for any lawful purpose.
Funding: R.P.H. and co-workers were funded by The Foundation for Research, Science and Technology, New Zealand. T.H.N.E. and co-workers were funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Science Research Council, United Kingdom and acknowledge support from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (AR0711) and the EU FP6 project ‘Grain Legumes’ FOOD-CT-2004-506223. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
* E-mail: noel.ellis@bbsrc.ac.uk
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