Ectopic Expression of Modifies Silique Architecture.

(Lour.) Pers. (mountain pepper, Lauraceae) is an important woody essential oil crop that produces fragrant oils in its fruits, especially in its peels. Identification of genes involved in the regulation of fruits and peel architecture is of economic significance for industry. It has been well known that the MADS-box genes are essential transcription factors that control flowers and fruits development. Here, we obtained 33 MADS-box genes first from the RNA-seq data in , and 27 of these genes were of the MIKC-type. , an AGAMOUS-like gene, was highly expressed in the developing stages of fruits, particularly at 85 days after full bloom. The ectopic expression of in resulted in not only curved leaves, early flowering and early full-opened inflorescences, but also shorter siliques and decreased percentage of peel thickness. Moreover, in the transgenic , the expression modes of several intrinsic ABC model class genes were influenced, among which the expression of was significantly reduced and , , and were significantly increased. This study systematically analyzed the MADS-box genes in at the transcriptional level and showed that plays important roles in the regulation of fruit architecture.