In some such way it is possible that living matter originated from non-living at some period in the evolution of the earth when the conditions for its formation existed. In order that the organic world should have developed from the first living matter, one of the original properties of the latter must have been a capability of continued existence among its surroundings. It must have been capab…
† Background: WOX (Wuschel-like homeobOX) genes form a family of plant-specificHOMEODOMAINtranscription factors, the members of which play important developmental roles in a diverse range of processes. WOX genes were first identified as determining cell fate during embryo development, as well as playing important roles in maintaining stem cell niches in the plant. In recent years, new roles…
† Background and Aims CRABS CLAW(CRC) is a member of theYABBY family of transcription factors involved in carpel morphogenesis, floral determinacy and nectary specification in arabidopsis. CRC orthologues have been functionally characterized across angiosperms, revealing additional roles in leaf vascular development and carpel identity specification in Poaceae. These studies support an ances…
† Background: Transcription factors of the RAV (RELATED TO ABI3 AND VP1) family are plant-specific and possess two DNA-binding domains. In Arabidopsis thaliana, the family comprises six members, including TEMPRANILLO 1 (TEM1) and TEM2. Arabidopsis RAV1 and TEM1 have been shown to bind bipartite DNA sequences, with the consensus motif C(A/C/G)ACA(N)2–8(C/A/T)ACCTG. Through direct binding …
† Background: Rice (Oryza sativa) and Arabidopsis thaliana have been widely used as model systems to understand howplants controlflowering time in response to photoperiod and cold exposure. Extensive research has resulted in the isolation of several regulatory genes involved in flowering and for them to be organized into a molecular network responsive to environmental cues. When plants are ex…
† Background and Aims: MADS-box genes comprise a gene family coding for transcription factors. This gene family expanded greatly during land plant evolution such that the number of MADS-box genes ranges from one or two in green algae to around 100 in angiosperms. Given the crucial functions of MADS-box genes for nearly all aspects of plant development, the expansion of this gene family pro…
† Background Turgor pressure is an essential feature of plants; however, whereas its physiological importance is unequivocally recognized, its relevance to development is often reduced to a role in cell elongation. † Scope This review surveys the roles of turgor in development, the molecular mechanisms of turgor regulation and the methods used to measure turgor and related quantities, wh…
† Background and Aims Sexual dimorphism, at both the flower and plant level, is widespread in the palm family (Arecaceae), in contrast to the situation in angiosperms as a whole. The tribe Chamaedoreeae is of special interest for studies of the evolution of sexual expression since dioecy appears to have evolved independently twice in this group from a monoecious ancestor. In order to underst…
† Background and Aims DEFICIENS (DEF)- and GLOBOSA (GLO)-like proteins constitute two sister clades of floral homeotic transcription factors that were already present in the most recent common ancestor (MRCA) of extant angiosperms. Together they specify the identity of petals and stamens in flowering plants. In core eudicots, DEF- and GLO-like proteins are functional in the cell only as het…
Flowers, the reproductive structures of the approximately 400 000 extant species of flowering plants, exist in a tremendous range of forms and sizes, mainly due to developmental differences involving the number, arrangement, size and form of the floral organs of which they consist. However, this tremendous diversity is underpinned by a surprisingly robust basic floral structure in which a centr…
† Background and Aims The REM (Reproductive Meristem) gene family of Arabidopsis thaliana is part of the B3 DNA-binding domain superfamily. Despite the fact that several groups have worked on the REM genes for many years, little is known about the function of this transcription factor family. This study aims to identify a set of REM genes involved in flower development and to characterize t…
† Background and Aims The TERMINAL FLOWER 1 (TFL1) gene is pivotal in the control of inflorescence architecture in arabidopsis. Thus, tfl1 mutants flower early and have a very short inflorescence phase, while TFL1-overexpressing plants have extended vegetative and inflorescence phases, producing many coflorescences. TFL1 is expressed in the shoot meristems, never in the flowers. In the inf…