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  1. Plants respond to neighbor shade by increasing stem and petiole elongation. Shade, sensed by phytochrome photoreceptors, causes stabilization ofPHYTOCHROME INTERACTING FACTORproteins and subsequent induction ofYUCCAauxin biosynthetic genes. To investigate the role ofYUCCAgenes in phytochrome-mediated elongation, we examined auxin signaling kinetics after an end-of-day far-red (EOD-FR) light treatment, and found that an auxin responsive reporter is rapidly induced within 2 hours of far-red exposure.YUCCA2, 5, 8,and9are all induced with similar kinetics suggesting that theycould act redundantly to control shade-mediated elongation. To test this hypothesis we constructed ayucca2, 5, 8, 9quadruple mutant and found that the hypocotyl and petiole EOD-FR and shade avoidance responses are completely disrupted. This work shows thatYUCCAauxin biosynthetic genes are essential for detectable shade avoidance and thatYUCCAgenes are important for petiole shade avoidance.

     
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  2. Abstract

    Floral attraction traits can significantly affect pollinator visitation patterns, but adaptive evolution of these traits may be constrained by correlations with other traits. In some cases, molecular pathways contributing to floral attraction are well characterized, offering the opportunity to explore loci potentially underlying variation among individuals. Here, we quantify the range of variation in floralUVpatterning (i.e.UV‘bulls‐eye nectar guides) among crop and wild accessions ofBrassica rapa. We then use experimental crosses to examine the genetic architecture, candidate loci and biochemical underpinnings of this patterning as well as phenotypic manipulations to test the ecological impact. We find qualitative variation inUVpatterning between wild (commonly lackingUVpatterns) and crop (commonly exhibitingUVpatterns) accessions. Similar to the majority of crops, recombinant inbred lines (RILs) derived from an oilseed crop × WIfast‐plant®cross exhibitUVpatterns, the size of which varies extensively among genotypes. InRILs, we further observe strong statistical‐genetic andQTLcorrelations within petal morphological traits and within measurements of petalUVpatterning; however, correlations between morphology andUVpatterning are weak or nonsignificant, suggesting thatUVpatterning is regulated and may evolve independently of overall petal size.HPLCanalyses reveal a high concentration of sinapoyl glucose inUV‐absorbing petal regions, which, in concert with physical locations ofUV‐traitQTLs, suggest a regulatory and structural gene as candidates underlying observed quantitative variation. Finally, insects prefer flowers withUVbulls‐eye patterns over those that lack patterns, validating the importance ofUVpatterning in pollen‐limited populations ofB. rapa.

     
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