TWISTED DWARF1 regulates Arabidopsis stamen development by differential
activation of ABCB-mediated auxin transport
Abstract
Despite clear evidence that a local accumulation of auxin is likewise
critical for floral organ initiation than for vegetative tissues, much
less is known about the molecular key players that regulate
auxin-controlled flower development. Here, by an analysis of
physiological and morphological parameters and by a spatial and temporal
dissection of auxin fluxes and expression of key players of
ABCB-mediated auxin transport in the Arabidopsis flower, we demonstrate
a crucial role for the FKBP42, TWISTED DWARF1 (TWD1), in the regulation
of flower development. Our analyses revealed that TWD1 promotes flower
shape and number, stamen elongation, pollen maturation, nectary
functionality and seed development. Most of the described developmental
defects in twd1 are shared with the abcb1 abcb19 mutant, which can be
attributed to the fact that TWD1 as a described ABCB chaperon is a
positive regulator of ABCB1 and ABCB19-mediated auxin transport. We
predict an overall housekeeping function for ABCB1 during earlier
stages, while ABCB19 seems to be responsible for the key event of rapid
elongation at later stages of stamen development. Our data indicate that
TWD1 controls flower development by differential activation of
ABCB-mediated auxin transport.