<p>The flower is debatably the most
complex of the plant organs, composed of far more tissues than any other plant organ
system, and, as such, the molecular mechanisms that govern tissue specification
and development have only just begun to be explored. One tissue that has seen
little research is the stigma. The stigma is the apical-most part of the
gynoecium and is designed to trap pollen grains on specialized cells called
stigma papillae and provide the means for them to germinate. Using a forward
genetic screen, many mutants which exhibit defects in stigma development were
identified. The identification of the genes with the causative mutations will
uncover new genes involved in stigma development which can be linked to
previously discovered genes to build a more comprehensive gene regulatory
network of stigma specification. Over the course of the screen, a new mutant, <i>lily</i>, was identified which has open buds
throughout most of flower development. This valuable genetic tool allows
microscopy and chemical applications at younger stages than emasculation
allows. Here, <i>lily</i> was used to show
the importance of reactive oxygen species in stigma specification and identity
maintenance. In addition to specification, the morphological differentiation of
stigma papillae was investigated. Using reverse and chemical genetics, live-imaging,
and morphometrics, it was found that stigma papillae grow via an anisotropic
diffuse growth mechanism. Collectively, these findings constitute a substantial
breaking of ground for stigma research, providing a solid foundation for future
investigation.</p>
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:purdue.edu/oai:figshare.com:article/7429931 |
| Date | 17 January 2019 |
| Creators | Thomas C. Davis (5930594) |
| Source Sets | Purdue University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, Thesis |
| Rights | CC BY 4.0 |
| Relation | https://figshare.com/articles/Stigma_Specification_and_Stigma_Papillae_Growth_in_Arabidopsis_thaliana/7429931 |
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