In order to maximize reproductive success, plants have evolved different strategies to control the critical developmental shift marked by the transition to flowering. As plants have adapted to diverse environments across the globe, these strategies have evolved to recognize and respond to local seasonal cues through the induction of specific downstream genetic pathways, thereby ensuring that th...

Insects use several senses to forage, detecting floral cues such as color, shape, pattern, and volatiles. We report a formerly unappreciated sensory modality in bumblebees (Bombus terrestris), detection of floral electric fields. These fields act as floral cues, which are affected by the visit of naturally charged bees. Like visual cues, floral electric fields exhibit variations in pattern and ...

(Reproductive development of Hyptis suaveolens (L.) Poit.: relationship among photoperiod, meristem cell density and expression pattern of a putative arabidopsis gene LEAFY ortholog). Hyptis suaveolens (L.) Poit. (Lamiaceae) is a typical invasive plant that produces an essential oil with several biological properties. The largest essential oil content is found at the flowers. So, advances in th...

Agriculturally important grasses such as rice, maize, and sugarcane are evolutionarily distant from Arabidopsis, yet some components of the floral induction process are highly conserved. Flowering in sugarcane is an important factor that negatively affects cane yield and reduces sugar/ethanol production from this important perennial bioenergy crop. Comparative studies have facilitated the ident...