Development in higher plants depends on the activity of meristems, formative regions that continuously initiate new organs at their flanks. Meristems must maintain a balance between stem cell renewal and organ initiation. In fasciated mutants, organ initiation fails to keep pace with meristem proliferation. The thick tassel dwarf1 (td1) mutation of maize affects both male and female inflorescen...

The tassel seed mutations ts4 and Ts6 of maize cause irregular branching in its inflorescences, tassels, and ears, in addition to feminization of the tassel due to the failure to abort pistils. A comparison of the development of mutant and wild-type tassels and ears using scanning electron microscopy reveals that at least four reproductive meristem types can be identified in maize: the inflores...

Regulating the transition of meristem identity is a critical step in reproductive development. After the shoot apical meristem (SAM) acquires inflorescence meristem identity, it goes through a sequential transition to second- and higher-order meristems that can eventually give rise to floral organs. Despite ample information on the molecular mechanisms that control the transition from SAM to in...

Wheat starch development is a complex process and is markedly difference by changes in spikelet spatial position. The present study deals with endosperm starch granule distribution and spatial position during filling development. The study was conducted with pure starch isolated from wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), Jimai20 and Shannong1391, at 7-35 days after anthesis (DAA). The results showed th...

KEY POINTS In vivo whole-cell patch-clamp recordings in cat visual cortex revealed small deflections in the membrane potential of neurons, termed spikelets. Spikelet statistics and functional properties suggest these deflections originate from a single, nearby cell. Spikelets shared a number sensory selectivities with the principal neuron including orientation selectivity, receptive field locat...

In future climates, greater heat tolerance at anthesis will be required in rice. The effect of high temperature at anthesis on spikelet fertility was studied on IR64 (lowland indica) and Azucena (upland japonica) at 29.6 degrees C (control), 33.7 degrees C, and 36.2 degrees C tissue temperatures. The objectives of the study were to: (i) determine the effect of temperature on flowering pattern; ...

Caryopses of Aegilops kotschyi Boiss. from different positions within the same spikelet differ greatly in their degree of dormancy. Imposition of this dormancy pattern is a correlative phenomenon within the spikelet, inasmuch as the uppermost developing caryopsis is least dormant and its development is associated with the dormancy status imposed on the lower (one or two) caryopses. Differences ...

Higher spikelet sterility due to heat stress exposure during flowering in rice is becoming a major threat for sustaining productivity in tropical and sub-tropical regions. Therefore, exploiting and incorporating early morning flowering (EMF) trait into ongoing breeding pipelines could be an effective strategy to minimize the damage. In this study, we have focused on quantifying the time of day ...

Axillary meristems play an important role in determining final plant architecture and floral structures. Tomato Ls, Arabidopsis LAS and rice MOC1 are orthologous genes regulating axillary meristem initiation and outgrowth. Their functions are generally conserved but the functional specificities are divergent among species. Obvious differences between rice panicles and wheat spikes suggest the d...

Plant remains dating to between 9000 and 8400 BP from a probable ditch structure at the Huxi site include the oldest rice (Oryza sativa) spikelet bases and associated plant remains recovered in China. The remains document an early stage of rice domestication and the ecological setting in which early cultivation was taking place. The rice spikelet bases from Huxi include wild (shattering), inter...