THE IMPORTANCE OF THE EAR MOTIF OF SUPERMAN IN THE REGULATION OF B-CLASS GENES IN ARABIDOPSIS THALIANA

Proper development of floral organs is contingent on a series of tightly regulated transcription factors and genes which act to specify organ fate. This study uses Arabidopsis thaliana, a prevalent model organism frequently utilized for research on plant development, to investigate the development of stamens andx carpels. The formation of floral organs is guided by a suite of genes called the Floral Organ Identity Genes (FOIG). These genes code for transcription factors which complex with each other to regulate floral organ fate. This study investigates the importance of the EAR motif of SUP in repressing two FOIGs, APELATA3 (AP3) and PISTILATA (PI), within the whorl 3-4 boundary. Here, it’s demonstrated that if the EAR motif of SUP is mutated, AP3 and PI will be ectopically expressed in whorl 4. Further, we find that TOPLESS (TPL) mutants also display similar AP3 and PI expression patterns to sup mutants within whorl 4. Upholding the current proposed mechanism involving SUP, TPL, and HDA19. All in all, these findings emphasize the importance of transcriptional regulation while contributing to the functional understanding of SUP.