Dissection of genetic regulation of compound inflorescence development in Medicago truncatula

Abstract

Development of inflorescence architecture is controlled by genetic regulatory networks. TERMINAL FLOWER1 (TFL1), APETALA1 (AP1), LEAFY (LFY), and FRUITFULL (FUL) are core regulators for inflorescence development. To understand the regulation of compound inflorescence development, we characterized mutants of corresponding orthologous genes, MtTFL1, MtAP1, SINGLE LEAFLET1 (SGL1), and MtFULc, in Medicago truncatula, and analyzed expression patterns of these genes. Results indicate that MtTFL1, MtFULc, MtAP1, and SGL1 play specific roles in identity determination of primary inflorescence meristems, secondary inflorescence meristems, floral meristems, and common primordia, respectively. Double mutation of MtTFL1 and MtFULc transforms compound inflorescences to simple flowers, while single mutation of MtTFL1 changes the inflorescence branching pattern from monopodial to sympodial. Double mutant mtap1sgl1 completely loses floral meristem identity. We conclude that inflorescence architecture in M. truncatula is controlled by spatiotemporal expression of MtTFL1, MtFULc, MtAP1, and SGL1 through reciprocal repression. Although this regulatory network shares similarity with the pea model, it has specificity in regulating inflorescence architecture in M. truncatula. This study establishes M. truncatula as an excellent genetic model for understanding compound inflorescence development in related legume crops.