AUTHOR=Rodas Ana L. , Roque Edelín , Hamza Rim , Gómez-Mena Concepción , Beltrán José Pío , Cañas Luis A. 

TITLE=SUPERMAN strikes again in legumes

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=14

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2023.1120342

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2023.1120342

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=<p>The <italic>SUPERMAN</italic> (<italic>SUP</italic>) gene was described in <italic>Arabidopsis thaliana</italic> over 30 years ago. <italic>SUP</italic> was classified as a cadastral gene required to maintain the boundaries between reproductive organs, thus controlling stamen and carpel number in flowers. We summarize the information on the characterization of <italic>SUP</italic> orthologs in plant species other than Arabidopsis, focusing on the findings for the <italic>MtSUP</italic>, the ortholog in the legume <italic>Medicago truncatula</italic>. <italic>M. truncatula</italic> has been widely used as a model system to study the distinctive developmental traits of this family of plants, such as the existence of compound inflorescence and complex floral development. <italic>MtSUP</italic> participates in the complex genetic network controlling these developmental processes in legumes, sharing conserved functions with <italic>SUP</italic>. However, transcriptional divergence between <italic>SUP</italic> and <italic>MtSUP</italic> provided context-specific novel functions for a <italic>SUPERMAN</italic> ortholog in a legume species. <italic>MtSUP</italic> controls the number of flowers per inflorescence and the number of petals, stamens and carpels regulating the determinacy of ephemeral meristems that are unique in legumes. Results obtained in <italic>M. truncatula</italic> provided new insights to the knowledge of compound inflorescence and flower development in legumes. Since legumes are valuable crop species worldwide, with high nutritional value and important roles in sustainable agriculture and food security, new information on the genetic control of their compound inflorescence and floral development could be used for plant breeding.</p>