Programmed Cell Death During Female Gametophyte Development

Endosperm is a storage tissue in the angiosperm seed that is important both biologically and agriculturally. Endosperm is biologically important because it provides nutrients to the embryo during seed development and agriculturally important because it is a significant source of food, feed, and industrial raw materials. Approximately two-thirds of human calories are derived from endosperm, either directly or indirectly through animal feed. Furthermore, endosperm is used as a raw material for numerous industrial products including ethanol. A major event in endosperm development is the transition between the syncytial phase, during which the endosperm nuclei undergo many rounds of mitosis without cytokinesis, and the cellularized phase, during which cell walls form around the endosperm nuclei. Understanding how the syncytial-cellular transition is regulated is agriculturally important because it influences seed size, seed sink strength, and grain weight. However, the molecular processes controlling this transition are not understood. This project led to the identification of the AGL62 gene that regulates the syncytial-cellular transition during endosperm development. AGL62 is expressed during the syncytial phase and suppresses endosperm cellularization during this period. AGL62 most likely does so by suppressing the expression of genes required for cellularization. At the end of the syncytial phase, the FIS PcG complex suppresses AGL62 expression, which allows expression of the cellularization genes and triggers the initiation of the cellularized phase. Endosperm arises following fertilization of the central cell within the female gametophyte. This project also led to the identification of the AGL80 gene that is required for development of the central cell into the endosperm. Within the ovule and seed, AGL80 is expressed exclusively in the central cell and uncellularized endosperm. AGL80 is required for expression of several central cell-expressed genes, including DEMETER and DD46. Together, these data suggest that AGL80 functions as a transcription factor within the central cell gene regulatory network and controls the expression of downstream genes required for central cell development and function