Transcriptome-wide mining of the differentially expressed transcripts for natural variation of floral organ size in Physalis philadelphica

Natural phenotypic variation, a result of genetic variation, developed during evolution in response to environmental selections. Physalis philadelphica, known as tomatillo in the Solanaceae, is rich in floral and post-floral organ size diversity. However, its genetic variation is unknown. Here P. philadelphica was classified into three groups with large, intermediate, and small reproductive organ size, and a positive correlation was observed between floral organ and berry sizes. Through cDNA-amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) analyses, 263 differentially expressed transcript-derived fragments (TDFs) were isolated from two accessions with different floral organ sizes. The genes encode various transcription factors, protein kinases, and enzymes, and they displayed multiple expression patterns during floral development, indicating a complexity in the genetic basis of phenotypic variation. Detailed expression analyses revealed that they were differentially expressed during floral and post-floral development, implying that they have roles in the development of flowers and fruits. Expression of three genes was further monitored in 26 accessions, and in particular the expression variation of Pp30, encoding an AP2-like transcription factor, correlates well with the observed phenotypic variations, which strongly supports an essential role for the gene in the natural variation of floral and post-floral organ size in Physalis. The results suggest that alteration in the expression pattern of a few key regulatory genes in the developmental process may be an important source of genetic variations that lead to natural variation in morphological traits.