Morphological and expression analyses of MADS genes in Japanese traditional narrow- and/or staminoid-petaled cultivars of Rhododendron kaempferi Planch.

The morphological traits of the floral mutation cultivars ‘Kagaribi’, ‘Kinshibe’ and ‘Kin-kujyaku’ of Rhododendron kaempferi that characteristically exhibit extremely narrow and/or staminoid petals were investigated. In addition, to confirm the causes of the mutations in these cultivars, the MADS-box C class AG gene homologues in R. kaempferi were isolated, and the MADS-box gene expression patterns in the floral organs of the wild-type plants and cultivars were analyzed. A morphological observation of the epidermis showed that the ‘Kagaribi’ and ‘Kinshibe’ cultivars formed staminoid flag petals and staminoid organs in whorl 2, respectively. The epidermal cells of the staminoid organs of whorl 2 in ‘Kagaribi’ and ‘Kinshibe’ resembled those of the stamens in whorl 3. In ‘Kin-kujyaku,’ the petals in whorl 2 and leaves were extremely narrow. The sepals in whorl 1 were absent, and the style in whorl 4 was split into 5 parts. The epidermal cells of the petals in whorl 2 in ‘Kin-kujyaku’ were dissimilar to the epidermal cells of the stamens in whorl 3. The deduced amino acid sequence of the isolated AG homologue from R. kaempferi was well-conserved among the AG orthologues. The expression levels of RkAG in whorl 2 to whorl 3 of ‘Kagaribi’ and ‘Kinshibe’ was approximately 27% and the same level, respectively. In ‘Kin-kujyaku,’ the expression pattern was similar to that of the wild type. These results suggest that the ‘Kagaribi’ and ‘Kinshibe’ floral mutations might be caused by the expression of RkAG in whorl 2.

► We investigated Japanese traditional cultivars in azalea which has narrow- and/or staminoid-petaled flower. ► In morphological investigation, the whorl 2 organ which forms corolla in wild type is alternated into staminoidy organs in mutational cultivars. ► The expression of class C MADS-box gene in whorl 2 is detected in mutational cultivars, but not detected in wild type. ► These results suggest that the expression class C gene in whorl 2 caused staminoidy petal form.