Linked Life Data

10490023

Source:http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/id/10490023

Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
6749
pubmed:dateCreated
1999-9-27
pubmed:databankReference
pubmed:abstractText
Although there have been many molecular studies of morphological mutants generated in the laboratory, it is unclear how these are related to mutants in natural populations, where the constraints of natural selection and breeding structure are quite different. Here we characterize a naturally occurring mutant of Linaria vulgaris, originally described more than 250 years ago by Linnaeus, in which the fundamental symmetry of the flower is changed from bilateral to radial. We show that the mutant carries a defect in Lcyc, a homologue of the cycloidea gene which controls dorsoventral asymmetry in Antirrhinum. The Lcyc gene is extensively methylated and transcriptionally silent in the mutant. This modification is heritable and co-segregates with the mutant phenotype. Occasionally the mutant reverts phenotypically during somatic development, correlating with demethylation of Lcyc and restoration of gene expression. It is surprising that the first natural morphological mutant to be characterized should trace to methylation, given the rarity of this mutational mechanism in the laboratory. This indicates that epigenetic mutations may play a more significant role in evolution than has hitherto been suspected.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Sep
pubmed:issn
0028-0836
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:day
9
pubmed:volume
401
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
157-61
pubmed:dateRevised
2011-11-17
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
1999
pubmed:articleTitle
An epigenetic mutation responsible for natural variation in floral symmetry.
pubmed:affiliation
John Innes Centre, Norwich, UK.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't