Isolation and characterization of an AGAMOUS homologue from cocoa

We report the cloning of a cDNA from TcAG, an AG (Arabidopsis thaliana MADS-box C-type transcription factor gene AGAMOUS) homologue from cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.). TcAG was in the cocoa flower expressed primarily in stamens and ovaries, comparable to AG in Arabidopsis. Additionally, we found that TcAG is also expressed in the fruit (pod) wall and during its entire development, as well as in the fruit pulp. Ectopic expression of TcAG in transgenic A. thaliana plants resulted in a range of weak to strong apetala2 (ap2) mutant-like phenotypes as well as early flowering and curly leaves, as observed in other studies of plants overexpressing a functional AG homologue. The severity of the phenotypes correlated positively with the TcAG transcript level in the transgenic plants.