Two genetic changes in cis-regulatory elements caused evolution of petal spot position in clarkia

ABSTRACT A major premise in evolutionary developmental biology is that regulatory changes, often involving _cis_-regulatory elements, are responsible for much morphological evolution. This

premise is supported by recent investigations of animal development, but information is just beginning to accumulate regarding whether it also applies to the evolution of plant

morphology1,2,3,4. Here, we identify the genetic differences between species in the genus _Clarkia_ that are responsible for evolutionary change in an ecologically important element of

floral colour patterns: spot position. The evolutionary shift in spot position was due to two simple genetic changes that resulted in the appearance of a transcription factor binding site

mutation in the _R2R3 Myb_ gene that changes spot formation. These genetic changes caused _R2R3 Myb_ to be activated by a different transcription factor that is expressed in a different

position in the petal. These results suggest that the regulatory rewiring paradigm is as applicable to plants as it is to animals, and support the hypothesis that _cis_-regulatory changes

may often play a role in plant morphological evolution. Access through your institution Buy or subscribe This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution ACCESS OPTIONS

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Read our FAQs * Contact customer support SIMILAR CONTENT BEING VIEWED BY OTHERS COMPARATIVE TRANSCRIPTOMICS REVEALS COMMONALITIES AND DIFFERENCES IN THE GENETIC UNDERPINNINGS OF A FLORAL

DIMORPHISM Article Open access 01 December 2022 DEVELOPMENTAL PHYLOTRANSCRIPTOMICS IN GRAPEVINE SUGGESTS AN ANCESTRAL ROLE OF SOMATIC EMBRYOGENESIS Article Open access 20 February 2025

STRUCTURAL VARIATION AT THE MAIZE _WUSCHEL1_ LOCUS ALTERS STEM CELL ORGANIZATION IN INFLORESCENCES Article Open access 22 April 2021 CHANGE HISTORY * _ 26 JUNE 2020 An amendment to this

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transcripts in plants. _J. Vis. Exp._ 57, 3328 (2011). Google Scholar  Download references ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We thank T. Martins, S. Zebell, C. Wilson and R. Zentella for technical advice. We

thank X. Dong and F. Nijhout for comments on the manuscript. Photographs are by M. Below, K. Morse, V. Smith and B. Breckling. This work was supported by a National Science Foundation grant

to M.D.R. AUTHOR INFORMATION AUTHORS AND AFFILIATIONS * Biology Department, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA Peng Jiang & Mark Rausher Authors * Peng Jiang View author publications You

can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * Mark Rausher View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar CONTRIBUTIONS P.J. and M.D.R.

designed the project; P.J. performed the experiments and the analyses; P.J. and M.D.R. wrote the paper. CORRESPONDING AUTHOR Correspondence to Peng Jiang. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

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INFORMATION Supplementary Figures 1–18, Supplementary Tables 1–3. LIFE SCIENCES REPORTING SUMMARY RIGHTS AND PERMISSIONS Reprints and permissions ABOUT THIS ARTICLE CITE THIS ARTICLE Jiang,

P., Rausher, M. Two genetic changes in _cis-_regulatory elements caused evolution of petal spot position in _Clarkia_. _Nature Plants_ 4, 14–22 (2018).

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-017-0085-6 Download citation * Received: 11 July 2017 * Accepted: 29 November 2017 * Published: 03 January 2018 * Issue Date: January 2018 * DOI:

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