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Media type:
E-Article
Title:
OUROBOROS is a master regulator of the gametophyte to sporophyte life cycle transition in the brown alga Ectocarpus
Contributor:
Coelho, Susana M.;
Godfroy, Olivier;
Arun, Alok;
Le Corguillé, Gildas;
Peters, Akira F.;
Cock, J. Mark
imprint:
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2011
Published in:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Language:
English
DOI:
10.1073/pnas.1102274108
ISSN:
1091-6490;
0027-8424
Origination:
Footnote:
Description:
<jats:p>
The brown alga
<jats:italic>Ectocarpus siliculosus</jats:italic>
has a haploid–diploid life cycle that involves an alternation between two distinct generations, the sporophyte and the gametophyte. We describe a mutant,
<jats:italic>ouroboros</jats:italic>
(
<jats:italic>oro</jats:italic>
), in which the sporophyte generation is converted into a functional, gamete-producing gametophyte. The life history of the mutant thus consists of a continuous reiteration of the gametophyte generation. The
<jats:italic>oro</jats:italic>
mutant exhibited morphological features typical of the gametophyte generation and accumulated transcripts of gametophyte generation marker genes. Genetic analysis showed that
<jats:italic>oro</jats:italic>
behaved as a single, recessive, Mendelian locus that was unlinked to the
<jats:italic>IMMEDIATE UPRIGHT</jats:italic>
locus, which has been shown to be necessary for full expression of the sporophyte developmental program. The data presented here indicate that
<jats:italic>ORO</jats:italic>
is a master regulator of the gametophyte-to-sporophyte life cycle transition and, moreover, that
<jats:italic>oro</jats:italic>
represents a unique class of homeotic mutation that results in switching between two developmental programs that operate at the level of the whole organism.
</jats:p>