Thompson, Elinor ORCID: 0000-0002-6434-9290, Glover, Beverley and Davies, Julia (2008) A MATE protein involved in flavonoid transport in Arabidopsis flowers. In: XVI Congress of the Federation of European Societies of Plant Biology (FESPB), 15-18 Aug 2008, Tampere, Finland. (Unpublished)

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Abstract

Flavonoids aid reproduction by attracting pollinators and dispersers, but in some plants they also have a direct role in fertility. Our work suggests that a previously uncharacterised MATE-family protein (FFT) transports flavonoids in guard cells of floral organs and, without it, Arabidopsis not only has perturbed fertility but also altered growth characteristics.

Null mutant fft seedlings grow faster than WT, and seed size and mucilage are also affected by disruption of the gene. SEM and viability staining of mutant flowers reveal reduced anther dehsicence and a proportion of defective pollen. As some viable pollen is generated there is reduced fertility, not complete sterility, but siliques are smaller with fewer seeds per silique than in WT. Examination of flavonoid levels by both spectroscopy and LCMS reveals various changes in buds and siliques, with a significant reduction in one kaempferol glucoside in particular. FFT transcript can be amplified from most tissues but GUS-FFT-promoter-transformed plants show most intense staining in guard cells (where flavonoids are often found) of the inflorescence tissues, particularly those of the nectary and anther. Cotyledon guard cells are strongly stained, as are hydathode guard cells of mature leaves, and the root tip and root elongation zone. Since flavonoids are implicated in regulation of auxin transport, we conclude not only that the FFT MATE protein is a transporter of the flavonoid biosynthesis pathway that is involved not just in reproduction but possibly also in growth regulation.

Item Type:	Conference or Conference Paper (Poster)
Uncontrolled Keywords:	MATE, transporter, fertility, flavonoid, Arabidopsis
Subjects:	S Agriculture > SB Plant culture
Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group:	Faculty of Education, Health & Human Sciences > School of Human Sciences (HUM)
Related URLs:	Organisation
Last Modified:	09 Oct 2021 04:46
URI:	http://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/4232

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