PETALEVODEVO

Resurrection of Developmental Pathways in the Evolution of the Petal

Coordinatore	THE CHANCELLOR, MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE    more  Organization address address: The Old Schools, Trinity Lane city: CAMBRIDGE postcode: CB2 1TN contact info Titolo: Ms. Nome: Edna Cognome: Murphy Email: send email Telefono: +44 1223 333543 Fax: +44 1223 332988
Nazionalità Coordinatore	United Kingdom [UK]
Totale costo	75˙000 €
EC contributo	75˙000 €
Programma	FP7-PEOPLE Specific programme "People" implementing the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007 to 2013)
Code Call	FP7-PEOPLE-IRG-2008
Funding Scheme	MC-IRG
Anno di inizio	2009
Periodo (anno-mese-giorno)	2009-10-01   -   2012-09-30

 Partecipanti

#	participant	country	role	EC contrib. [€]
1	THE CHANCELLOR, MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE  Organization address address: The Old Schools, Trinity Lane city: CAMBRIDGE postcode: CB2 1TN contact info Titolo: Ms. Nome: Edna Cognome: Murphy Email: send email Telefono: +44 1223 333543 Fax: +44 1223 332988	UK (CAMBRIDGE)	coordinator	75˙000.00

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 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'Our project concerns the evolution of petal conical cells in a group of flowering plants, the Caryophyllales. The fellow has determined that following a loss of petals in the Caryophyllales, petals have subsequently re-evolved 9 times. Conical cells, which perform a vital role in interacting with pollinators, often occur on these re-evolved petals. The host has demonstrated that MIXTA-like R2R3 MYB genes specify conical cells in distant lineages of flowering plants. We hypothesise that recurrent evolution of these conical cells in separate occurrences of re-evolved petals is due to repeated recruitment of the MIXTA-like R2R3 MYB genes. We will test this hypothesis by isolating R2R3 MYB genes from 3 species representing distinct evolutions of the petal in the Caryophyllales. We will conduct phylogenetic analyses to determine if the same or distinct lineages of R2R3 MYB genes have been recruited to specify conical cells. We will assess if the genes are expressed in the conical cells. We will perform a transformation assay into tobacco to determine if the MIXTA-like R2R3 MYB genes are functioning as in other flowering plants. We will analyse the function of the genes in vivo, through RNAi and overexpresssion. The host’s collaborators demonstrated that MIXTA-like R2R3 MYB genes are directly activated by the transcription factors APETALA3 and PITILLATA, to induce conical cells. However, the fellow has shown that APETALA3 and PISTILLATA are often absent from these re-evolved petals. We ask how MIXTA-like R2R3 MYB genes are turned on if APETALA3 and PISTILLATA are absent. We will answer this by analyzing the promoters of the R2R3 MYB genes to identify novel regulatory elements. The fellow’s expertise on Caryophyllales petal evolution, combined with the host’s expertise on MIXTA-like R2R3 MYB genes enables an interdisciplinary approach. It is an important study for the emerging field of evolutionary developmental biology, and will enhance scientific research in the EU.'