Combining growth-promoting genes leads to positive epistasis in Arabidopsis thaliana
Hannes Vanhaeren,
Nathalie Gonzalez,
Frederik Coppens,
Liesbeth De Milde,
Twiggy Van Daele,
Mattias Vermeersch,
Nubia B Eloy,
Veronique Storme,
Dirk Inzé
Affiliations
Hannes Vanhaeren
Department of Plant Systems Biology, Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie, Ghent, Belgium; Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
Nathalie Gonzalez
Department of Plant Systems Biology, Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie, Ghent, Belgium; Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
Frederik Coppens
Department of Plant Systems Biology, Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie, Ghent, Belgium; Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
Liesbeth De Milde
Department of Plant Systems Biology, Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie, Ghent, Belgium; Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
Twiggy Van Daele
Department of Plant Systems Biology, Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie, Ghent, Belgium; Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
Mattias Vermeersch
Department of Plant Systems Biology, Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie, Ghent, Belgium; Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
Nubia B Eloy
Department of Plant Systems Biology, Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie, Ghent, Belgium; Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
Veronique Storme
Department of Plant Systems Biology, Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie, Ghent, Belgium; Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
Dirk Inzé
Department of Plant Systems Biology, Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie, Ghent, Belgium; Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
Several genes positively influence final leaf size in Arabidopsis when mutated or overexpressed. The connections between these growth regulators are still poorly understood although such knowledge would further contribute to understand the processes driving leaf growth. In this study, we performed a combinatorial screen with 13 transgenic Arabidopsis lines with an increased leaf size. We found that from 61 analyzed combinations, 39% showed an additional increase in leaf size and most resulted from a positive epistasis on growth. Similar to what is found in other organisms in which such an epistasis assay was performed, only few genes were highly connected in synergistic combinations as we observed a positive epistasis in the majority of the combinations with samba, BRI1OE or SAUR19OE. Furthermore, positive epistasis was found with combinations of genes with a similar mode of action, but also with genes which affect distinct processes, such as cell proliferation and cell expansion.
