Gene duplication and loss provide raw material for evolutionary change within organismal lineages as functional diversification of gene copies provide a mechanism for phenotypic variation. Here we focus on the APETALA1/FRUITFULL MADS-box gene lineage evolution. AP1/FUL genes are angiosperm-specific and have undergone several duplications. By far the most significant one is the core-eudicot dupl...

In Arabidopsis the floral identity of meristems is specified by the expression of a handful of genes that are activated upon the cues from several pathways leading to flowering. One of these genes is LEAFY (LFY) from Arabidopsis, which encodes a transcription factor that directly activates the expression of the floral identity MADS-box gene APETALA1 (AP1). In petunia, LFY ortholog ABERRANT LEAF...

Flowering time and stem growth habit determine inflorescence architecture in soybean, which turn influences seed yield. Dt1, a homolog of Arabidopsis TERMINAL FLOWER 1 (TFL1), is major controller habit, but its underlying molecular mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we demonstrate that Dt1 affects node number plant height, as well flowering time, soybean under long-day conditions. The bZIP transc...

LEAFY (LFY) and APETALA1 (AP1) encode unrelated transcription factors that activate overlapping sets of homeotic genes in Arabidopsis flowers. Sector analysis and targeted expression in transgenic plants were used to study whether LFY and AP1 can participate in cell-cell signaling between and within different layers of the floral meristem. LFY signaled equally well from all layers and had subst...

Several intragenically linked microsatellites have been identified in the floral regulatory genes A. sandwicense APETALA1 (ASAP1) and A. sandwicense APETALA3/TM6 (ASAP3/TM6) in 17 species of the Hawaiian and North American Madiinae (Asteraceae). Thirty-nine microsatellite loci were observed in the introns of these two genes, suggesting that they are hotspots for microsatellite formation. The se...

The Arabidopsis MADS box transcription factor APETALA1 (AP1) was identified as a substrate for farnesyltransferase and shown to be farnesylated efficiently both in vitro and in vivo. AP1 regulates the transition from inflorescence shoot to floral meristems and the development of sepals and petals. AP1 fused to green fluorescent protein (GFP) retained transcription factor activity and directed t...

Flowering is controlled by a variety of interrelated mechanisms. In many plants, the environment controls the production of a floral stimulus, which moves from the leaves to the shoot apex. Apices can become committed to the continuous production of flowers after the receipt of sufficient amounts of floral stimulus. However, in some plants, the commitment to continued flower production is evide...