As a step toward functional annotation of genes required for floral initiation and development within the Eucalyptus genome, we used short read sequencing to analyze transcriptomes of floral buds from early and late developmental stages, and compared these with transcriptomes of diverse vegetative tissues, including leaves, roots, and stems. A subset of 4807 genes (13% of protein-coding genes) ...

Five B-class MADS-box genes, including four APETALA3 (AP3)-like PeMADS2∼5 and one PISTILLATA (PI)-like PeMADS6, specify the spectacular flower morphology in orchids. The PI-like PeMADS6 ubiquitously expresses in all floral organs. The four AP3-like genes, resulted from two duplication events, express ubiquitously at floral primordia and early floral organ stages, but show distinct expression pr...

An open question in developmental biology is how groups of dividing cells can generate specific numbers of segments or organs. We describe the phenotypic effects of mutations in PERIANTHIA, a gene specifically required for floral organ patterning in Arabidopsis thaliana. Most wild-type Arabidopsis flowers have 4 sepals, 4 petals, 6 stamens, and 2 carpels. Flowers of perianthia mutant plants mos...

The homeotic gene AGAMOUS (AG) has dual roles in specifying organ fate and limiting stem cell proliferation in Arabidopsis flowers. We show that the floral identity protein LEAFY (LFY), a transcription factor expressed throughout the flower, cooperates with the homeodomain protein WUSCHEL (WUS) to activate AG in the center of flowers. WUS was previously identified because of its role in maintai...

Floral traits often show correlated variation, bothwithin and across species. One explanation for this pattern of floral integration is that different elements of floral phenotypes are controlled by the samegenes, that is, that thegenetic architecture is pleiotropic. Recent studies froma rangeof model systems suggest that the pleiotropy is common among the loci responsible for floral divergence...

Herbivores that oviposit in flowers of animal-pollinated plants depend on pollinators for seed production and are therefore expected to choose flowers that attract pollinators. This provides a mechanism by which seed herbivores and pollinators could impose conflicting selection on floral traits. We measured phenotypic selection on floral traits of Lobelia siphilitica (Lobeliaceae) via female fi...

Duration of various stages of inflorescence differentiation and hormone levels in apical buds eventually decide the harvest time, flower uniformity and quality of ornamental plants. The progress in inflorescence differentiation process in the chrysanthemum cultivar ‘Jingyun’ can be divided into nine stages. Following short day induction, it took 4d to reach the growing point hypertrophy stage, ...

The development of comparative phylogenetic methods has provided a powerful toolkit for addressing adaptive hypotheses, and researchers have begun to apply these methods to test the role of pollinators in floral evolution and diversification. One approach is to reconstruct the history of both floral traits and pollination systems to determine if floral trait change is spurred by shifts in polli...

The development of comparative phylogenetic methods has provided a powerful toolkit for addressing adaptive hypotheses, and researchers have begun to apply these methods to test the role of pollinators in floral evolution and diversification. One approach is to reconstruct the history of both floral traits and pollination systems to determine if floral trait change is spurred by shifts in polli...

Through multifaceted genome-scale research involving phylogenomics, targeted gene surveys, and gene expression analyses in diverse basal lineages of angiosperms, our studies provide insights into the most recent common ancestor of all extant flowering plants. MADS-box gene duplications have played an important role in the origin and diversification of angiosperms. Furthermore, early angiosperms...