OKAMURO 9604507 Arabidopsis flower development is governed by an evolutionarily conserved network of genes that control the establishment and maintenance of flower meristem identity, floral organ development, and gametogenesis. However, little is known about how these genes function together at the cell and molecular levels. The APETALA2 (AP2) gene plays a central role in controlling flower development in Arabidopsis, in part, by controlling the temporal and spatial expression pattern of another floral homeotic gene AGAMOUS (AG). The AP2 protein represents the first of what is now known to be an important new family of plant DNA binding proteins including EREBPs, AINTEGUMENTA, and TINY. The goal of the experiments in this project is to understand how AP2 controls AG gene expression at the molecular level by analyzing its DNA binding activity in vitro and to identify proteins that may physically interact with and function together with AP2 during flower development. Specific goals include: (1) identifying sequences within the AP2 polypeptide that are required for AP2 DNA binding activity in vitro, (2) identifying sequences within the AP2 polypeptide that are required for AP2 function in viva, (3) determining how AP2 gene activity is regulated at the posttranslational level, (4) determining whether AP2 forms multimers with itself or with other AP2 domain containing proteins in viva, and (5) identifying proteins that form stable physical interactions with AP2 using gel filtration chromatography. The elucidation of AP2 function will ultimately provide new insight into the control of plant growth and development at the molecular level.
