Transcriptional reprogramming during floral fate acquisition

Abstract

Coordinating growth and patterning is essential for eukaryote morphogenesis. In plants, auxin is a key regulator of morphogenesis implicated throughout development. Despite this central role, our understanding of how auxin coordinates cell fate and growth changes is still limited. Here, we addressed this question using a combination of genomic screens to delve into the transcriptional network induced by auxin at the earliest stage of flower development, prior to morphological changes. We identify a shoot-specific network suggesting that auxin initiates growth through an antagonistic regulation of growth-promoting and growth-repressive hormones, quasi-synchronously to floral fate specification. We further identify two DNA-binding One Zinc Finger (DOF) transcription factors acting in an auxin-dependent network that could interface growth and cell fate from the early stages of flower development onward.