TERMINAL FLOWER2, the Arabidopsis HETEROCHROMATIN PROTEIN1 Homolog, and its Involvement in Plant Development

Abstract: This thesis describes the characterization of the Arabidopsis thaliana mutant terminal flower2 (tfl2), the cloning of the corresponding gene, and the analysis of TFL2 function in plant development. The tfl2 mutant is pleiotropic, exhibiting early floral induction in both long and short day conditions, a terminating inflorescence and dwarfing. TFL2 was isolated using a positional cloning strategy, and was found to encode a homolog to HETEROCHROMATIN PROTEIN1 (HP1), previously identified in yeast and animals where it is involved in gene regulation at the level of chromatin, as well as in the structural formation of constitutive heterochromatin.Investigating the light response during seedling photomorphogenesis I found that the tfl2 hypocotyl is hypersensitive to red and far-red light and that tfl2 is impaired in phytochrome mediated light responses such as the shade avoidance response. In the tightly regulated transition to flowering, we have shown that tfl2 might contribute to the interpretation of both external signals such as light and temperature as well as endogenous cues, via FCA, in the autonomous pathway. The Arabidopsis inflorescence meristem is indeterminate, and TFL2 possibly acts to maintain this indeterminate fate by repression of the floral meristem genes APETALA1 and AGAMOUS. In yeast two hybrid experiments TFL2 was shown to interact with IAA5, a protein with suggested functions in auxin regulation. Further, in tfl2 mutants the levels of the auxin indole-3-acetic acid decrease with age in aerial tissues, suggesting a function of TFL2 in regulation of auxin homeostasis and response. In summary, TFL2 contributes to regulation of several aspects of plant development, in accordance with the mutant phenotype and the identity of the TFL2 protein.