Grass inflorescence development is diverse and complex and involves sophisticated but poorly understood interactions of genes regulating branch determinacy and leaf growth. Here, we use a combination of transcript profiling and genetic and phylogenetic analyses to investigate tasselsheath1 ( tsh1 ) and tsh4 , two maize genes that simultaneously suppress inflorescence leaf growth and promote branching. We identify a regulatory network of inflorescence leaf suppression that involves the phase change gene tsh4 upstream of tsh1 and the ligule identity gene liguleless2 ( lg2 ). We also find that a series of duplications in the tsh1 gene lineage facilitated its shift from boundary domain in nongrasses to suppressed inflorescence leaves of grasses. Collectively, these results suggest that the boundary domain genes tsh1 and lg2 were recruited to inflorescence leaves where they suppress growth and regulate a nonautonomous signaling center that promotes inflorescence branching, an important component of yield in cereal grasses.

中文翻译：

---

招募边界域基因以抑制玉米苞片生长并促进玉米分枝

草的花序发育是多样而复杂的，涉及复杂但鲜为人知的基因相互作用，这些基因调节分枝决定性和叶片生长。在这里，我们结合使用转录谱分析和遗传及系统发育分析来调查流苏鞘1(tsh1） 和tsh4，两个同时抑制花序叶生长和促进分枝的玉米基因。我们确定了一个涉及相变基因的花序叶抑制调控网络tsh4上游tsh1和叶舌身份基因无叶舌2(LG2). 我们还发现在tsh1基因谱系促进其从非草的边界域转移到草的抑制花序叶。总的来说，这些结果表明边界域基因tsh1和LG2被招募到花序叶上，在那里它们抑制生长并调节促进花序分枝的非自主信号中心，这是谷类草产量的重要组成部分。