BP — Asparagus officinalis

Summary

AoBP (A4U43_C03F7430) on asparagus chromosome 3 encodes an ELK domain-containing KNOX2 protein with DNA-binding transcription factor activity, RNA polymerase II cis-regulatory region sequence-specific DNA binding, ATP-dependent chromatin remodeler activity, miRNA binding, and translation initiation factor activity. It is associated with shoot organ boundary specification, somatic stem cell population maintenance, regulation of gibberellin biosynthetic process, negative regulation of auxin-mediated signaling, floral whorl morphogenesis, and maintenance of inflorescence and floral meristem identity. The gene is linked to numerous agronomic traits including shoot axis morphology, seed yield, seed size, seed dormancy, leaf morphology, phyllotaxy, peduncle length, whole plant size, boron sensitivity, light intensity response, vegetative growth time, and biotic stress tolerance. Studies of related genes in other species link the family to internode elongation, pedicel development, leaf morphology, and plant architecture.