Wang Xiang;Wang Xin-guo;Ren Jiang-ping;Ma Ying;Yin Jun

Chinese Acad Agr Sci, Inst Crop Sci, Beijing 100081, Peoples R China;Henan Agr Univ, Natl Ctr Wheat Res, Zhengzhou 450002, Peoples R China

SlWUS;tomato;meristem;determination;Arabidopsis

The homeobox transcription factor WUSCHEL (WUS) plays a critical role in keeping the balance between the maintenance and differentiation of stem cell population in shoot and floral meristems of Arabidopsis thaliana. The corresponding gene SlWUS is yet to be characterized in tomato. In order to characterize SlWUS gene and its biological function, we cloned it from tomato and analyzed its structure. Tissue expression showed that the SlWUS highly expressed in tomato flower abscission zone. The overexpression of SlWUS in Arabidopsis could trigger undifferentiation of plant flower organ and indeterminacy of flower identity, suggesting. that SlWUS maybe involved in flower structure development as well as flower organ identity. Taken together, our results indicated that the SlWUS plays an important role in flower abscission zone and plant organ shedding.