MADS-box genes are a large family of transcription factors initially discovered for their role during development of flowers and fruits. The MADS-box transcription factors from animals have been studied by X-ray protein crystallography but those from plants remain to be studied. In this work, a MADS-box cDNA from mango encoding a protein of 254 residues was obtained and compared. Based on phylo...

MADS-box transcription factors are key regulators of several plant development processes. Analysis of the complete Arabidopsis genome sequence revealed 107 genes encoding MADS-box proteins, of which 84% are of unknown function. Here, we provide a complete overview of this family, describing the gene structure, gene expression, genome localization, protein motif organization, and phylogenetic re...

MADS-box genes encode transcription factors that are key regulators of plant inflorescence and flower development. We examined DNA sequence variation in 32 maize MADS-box genes and 32 randomly chosen maize loci and investigated their involvement in maize domestication and improvement. Using neutrality tests and a test based on coalescent simulation of a bottleneck model, we identified eight MAD...

MADS-box genes in plants control various aspects of development and reproductive processes including flower formation. To obtain some insight into the roles of these genes in morphological evolution, we investigated the origin and diversification of floral MADS-box genes by conducting molecular evolutionary genetics analyses. Our results suggest that the most recent common ancestor of today's f...

MADS-box genes play critical roles in a number of developmental processes in flowering plants, such as specification of floral organ identity, control of flowering time, and regulation of fruit development. Because of their crucial functions in flower development, diversification of the MADS-box gene family has been suggested to be a major factor responsible for floral diversity during radiatio...

Apple (Malus×domestica Borkh.) is the fourth fruit in importance and Iran ranks fifth in apple production in the world. Longevity of juvenility in apple extends breeding cycles and makes its breeding a tough job. To alleviate this barrier via genetic engineering, the genes involved in flowering and floral development of apple and their function must be identified and characterized. Most of thes...

MADS-box genes encode transcription factors in all eukaryotic organisms thus far studied. Plant MADS-box proteins contain a DNA-binding (M), an intervening (I), a Keratin-like (K) and a C-terminal C-domain, thus plant MADS-box proteins are of the MIKC type. In higher plants most of the well-characterized genes are involved in floral development. They control the transition from vegetative to ge...

Vivian F. Irish Yale University, New Haven, CT. MADS box genes encode key transcriptional regulators that have been implicated in the control of various aspects of floral development, primarily through work carried out in Arabidopsis. We have embarked on a series of analyses to examine the extent to which gene duplication, regulatory diversification and differences in protein interactions have ...

Regulation of flowering time is best understood in the dicot model species Arabidopsis thaliana. Molecular analyses revealed that genes belonging to the MADS box transcription factor family play pivotal regulatory roles in both the vernalization- and photoperiod-regulated flowering pathways. Here the analysis of three APETALA1 (AP1)-like MADS box proteins (LpMADS1-3) and a SHORT VEGETATIVE PHAS...