文摘
Arabidopsis thaliana PISTILLATA (PI) and Antirrhinum majus GLOBOSA (GLO), encoding B function MADS-box transcription factors specifying petal and stamen identity, have been intensively studied. To identify the possible roles of GLO/PI-like genes in regulating floral development in species without petals, we isolated and identified a PI ortholog from Fagopyrum esculentum (buckwheat, Polygonaceae), a multi-food-use pseudocereal with healing benefits. Protein sequence alignment and phylogenetic analysis grouped FaesPI into the GLO/PI lineage. Expression analysis suggested that FaesPI was expressed only in developing stamens, distinguishing it from PI and GLO that were expressed in developing petals and stamens. Moreover, ectopic expression of FaesPI rescued stamen development without complementation of petal development in an Arabidopsis pi mutant. Our results suggest that FaesPI is involved only in stamen development in buckwheat. These results also suggest that FaesPI holds potential application for biotechnical engineering to establish a male sterile line of F. esculentum.