Previous studies have revealed that the WUSCHEL-related homeobox (WOX) gene
superfamily regulates several pathways in plant development. The WOX family
member STENOFOLIA (STF), is known to be involved in leaf expansion in the
dicot alfalfa Medicago truncutula. The research team led by Meiyan Liu from
Jiangsu Normal University in China investigated the STF gene and expressed
it in winter
[www.isaaa.org] wheat
(Triticum aestivum).

The transgenic plants expressing STF showed widened leaves as well as
accelerated flowering and increased chlorophyll content. These desirable
traits were also found to be stably inherited in the progeny. The STF
protein was found to bind to wheat genes that have the (GA)n/(CT)n DNA cis
element suggesting a mechanism for pleiotropic effects.

These results show that the STF gene from a dicot can be used to regulate
leaf width, flowering time and chlorophyll content in the monocot wheat.

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