SEUSS, a member of a novel family of plant regulatory proteins, represses floral homeotic gene expression withLEUNIG

Proper regulation of homeotic gene expression is critical for pattern formation during both animal and plant development. A negative regulatory mechanism ensures that the floral homeotic gene AGAMOUS is only expressed in the center of an Arabidopsis floral meristem to specify stamen and carpel identity and to repress further proliferation of the floral meristem. We report the genetic identification and characterization of a novel gene, SEUSS, that is required in the negative regulation of AGAMOUS. Mutations in SEUSS cause ectopic and precocious expression of AGAMOUS mRNA, leading to partial homeotic transformation of floral organs in the outer two whorls. The effects of seuss mutations are most striking when combined with mutations in LEUNIG, a previously identified repressor of AGAMOUS. More complete homeotic transformation of floral organs and a greater extent of organ loss in all floral whorls were observed in the seuss leunig double mutants. By in situ hybridization and double and triple mutant analyses, we showed that this enhanced defect was caused by an enhanced ectopic and precocious expression of AGAMOUS. Using a map-based approach, we isolated the SEUSS gene and showed that it encodes a novel protein with at least two glutamine-rich domains and a highly conserved domain that shares sequence identity with the dimerization domain of the LIM-domain-binding transcription co-regulators in animals. Based on these molecular and genetic analyses, we propose that SEUSS encodes a regulator of AGAMOUS and functions together with LEUNIG.