In Arabidopsis thaliana, the initiation of flowering is carried out by four genetic pathways: gibberellin, autonomous, vernalization, and light-dependent pathways. These processes are integrated by the function of the genes FD, FE, FWA, PDF2, SOC1, and FT at the integration pathway. The integrated signal of the floral induction is transmitted to the floral meristem identity genes LFY and AP1, a...

A combination of environmental factors and endogenous cues trigger floral meristem initiation on the flanks of the shoot meristem. A plethora of regulatory genes have been implicated in this process. They function either as activators or as repressors of floral initiation. This review describes the mode of their action in a regulatory network that ensures the correct temporal and spatial contro...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Dimorphism among floral traits can evolve through variation in selection intensity between female and male performance, especially when sex functions are separated between flowers on a plant (monoecy), or between individuals (dioecy). In animal-pollinated species, male floral traits are predicted to be larger because competition for pollinators should favour larger displays....

Flowering is one of the important defining features of angiosperms. The initiation of flower development and the formation of different floral organs are the results of the interplays among numerous genes. But until now, just fewer genes have been found linked with flower development. And the functions of lots of genes of Arabidopsis thaliana are still unknown. Although, the quartet model succe...

Hybridization between closely related species is relatively common in angiosperms and can create a natural hybrid zone. We review recent experimental studies of floral biology in pairs of hybridizing species, emphasizing comparisons of the floral morphology and nectar rewards of hybrid plants with that of their progenitors, and quantifying the influence of these floral traits on pollinator beha...

The genetic basis of species differences provides insight into the mode and tempo of phenotypic divergence. We investigate the genetic basis of floral differences between two closely related plant taxa with highly divergent mating systems, Mimulus guttatus (large-flowered outcrosser) and M. nasutus (small-flowered selfer). We had previously constructed a framework genetic linkage map of the hyb...

PREMISE OF THE STUDY Floral symmetry is a trait of key importance when considering floral diversification because it is thought to play a significant role in plant-pollinator interactions. The CYCLOIDEA/TEOSINTE BRANCHED1 (CYC/TB1)-like genes have been implicated in the development and evolution of floral symmetry in numerous lineages. We thus chose to investigate a possible role for these gene...

BACKGROUND Combinations of floral traits - which operate as attractive signals to pollinators - act on multiple sensory modalities. For Manduca sexta hawkmoths, how learning modifies foraging decisions in response to those traits remains untested, and the contribution of visual and olfactory floral displays on behavior remains unclear. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Using M. sexta and the flo...

The switch from vegetative to reproductive growth is extremely stable even if plants are only transiently exposed to environmental stimuli that trigger flowering. In the photoperiodic pathway, a mobile signal, florigen, encoded by FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) in Arabidopsis thaliana, induces flowering. Because FT activity in leaves is not maintained after transient photoperiodic induction, the molecu...