MADS about Gnetales

MADS about MOSS.

Classic MIKC-type MADS-box genes (MIKC(c)) play diverse and crucial roles in angiosperm development, the most studied and best understood of which is the specification of floral organ identities. To shed light on how the flower evolved, phylogenetic and functional analyses of genes involved in its ontogeny, such as the MIKC(c) genes, must be undertaken in as broad a selection as possible of pla...

Pollen and Pollination in Ephedra (gnetales)

Moonlight pollination in the gymnosperm Ephedra (Gnetales).

Most gymnosperms are wind-pollinated, but some are insect-pollinated, and in Ephedra (Gnetales), both wind pollination and insect pollination occur. Little is, however, known about mechanisms and evolution of pollination syndromes in gymnosperms. Based on four seasons of field studies, we show an unexpected correlation between pollination and the phases of the moon in one of our studied species...

Mads at the nuclear pore

In This Issue In This Issue Build actin at the right place, right time ells explore their environment by sending out filopodia and lamellipodia. These protrusions encounter extra-cellular matrix components that encourage adhesion and cell spreading through actin polymerization. On page 881, DeMali et al. show how sites of cell adhesion specifically attract actin-polymerizing proteins, thus link...

Evolutionary complexity of MADS complexes.

Developmental programs rely on the timely and spatially correct expression of sets of interacting factors, many of which appear to be transcription factors. Examples of these can be found in the MADS-box gene family. This gene family has greatly expanded, particularly in plants, by a range of duplications that have enabled the genes to diversify in structure and function. MADS-box genes appear ...