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About our research

 

 We are interested in the molecular mechanisms responsible for plant shape, based on functional analysis of genes related to proliferation and differentiation. Machida et al. have isolated the ASYMMETRIC LEAVES2 (AS2) gene of Arabidopsis thaliana. This gene is involved in the formation of symmetric flat leaf lamina. Leaves of the as2 mutant plant and those of plants overexpressing AS2 exhibited extremely unique shapes (Figs. 1). The as2 mutant exhibits pleiotropic abnormal phenotypes including asymmetric leaf lobes, leaflet-like structures, malformed venation patterns (Fig. 2). Transcripts of the class 1 KNOX gene family, which is involved in the formation and maintenance of a meristem state, ectopically accumulate in the mature leaves of as2. This suggests that the AS2 gene plays a role in repressing the expression of the KNOX genes in mature leaves, which might cause the maintenance of the determinate cell state of leaf cells. We have shown that AS2, together with other genes, is also involved in the establishment of adaxial-abaxial polarity in the development of leaves. The AS2 gene encodes a novel nuclear protein that belongs to the plant specific protein family designated AS2/LOB family. We will attempt to apply the results to plant rearing. We collaborate with researchers studying roses and orchids in order to investigate the molecular mechanisms of development in garden plants.