The roles of the IGT gene family in plant architecture: past, present, and future

Abstract

Genetic improvement of architectural traits offers tremendous opportunities to dramatically improve crop densities, productivity, and ultimately sustainability. Among these, the orientation, or gravitropic set point angle (GSA), of plant organs is critical to optimize crop profiles, light capture, and nutrient acquisition. Mutant GSA phenotypes have been studied in plants since the 1930's but only recently have the underlying genes been identified. Many of these genes have turned out to fall within the IGT (LAZY1/DRO1/TAC1) family, which initially was not previously recognized due to the lack of sequence conservation of homologous genes across species. Here we discuss recent progress on IGT family genes in various plant species over the past century, review possible functional mechanisms, and provide further analysis of their evolution in land plants and their past and future roles in crop domestication.