Dissection of the Complex Phenotype in Cuticular Mutants of Arabidopsis Reveals a Role of SERRATE as a Mediator
Figure 1
Functional implications and consequences of mutations in LCR, BDG, and FDH.
(A) Three mutants, lcr, bdg and fdh, exhibit quite similar organ fusion phenotypes at the rosette stage. Note the differences between the serration of the wild-type leaves and those of the mutants. Leaf deformations in these mutants are not always an after-effect of a fusion at the early developmental stage. (B) Toluidine blue test in lcr, bdg and fdh. Wild-type and mutant leaves are shown after 2 min immersion in a 0.05% toluidine blue solution and destaining in water. No staining is observed with the wild type control. Bar is 1 cm. (C) Chlorophyll leaching test in lcr, bdg and fdh. Typical rosette leaves (∼ten) from seven-eight week old plants (short day conditions) were combined to both compose a sample and spectrophotometrically measure the rate of chlorophyll extraction into an ethanolic solution. The results are mean % values±standard error of at least six replicates. (D–G) Expression of the LCR:GFP reporter in transgenic Arabidopsis plants. Shown are the floral organs in which LCR:GFP expression is most conspicuous. The green color in the dual-color fluorescent confocal images corresponds to the GFP signal, and the red color to the autofluorescence of the chlorophyll. (D) The pistil, composed of the ovary (or), style (sy), and stigma covered with elongated papilla cells (pa). (E) Optical section through a pistil exposing the interior of the ovary. Note the epidermis-specific expression of GFP in the ovary wall. (F) Cross-section through the floral bud revealing epidermal GFP expression in sepals, petals, stamens and the pistil, and the GFP signal in developing pollen. The pistil epidermis exhibits a brighter signal. (G) Cross-section of the pistil showing septum (se), ovule (ov) and ovary wall in greater detail. Note that the inner epidermis of the ovary wall and the septum are devoid of the GFP signal. Bars are 200 µm for (D,E,F) and 100 µm for (G).