Beltran JP 1991
- Authors:
Beltran JP.
- Title:
A flourishing time for flower development. Workshop on Flower Development,
sponsored by Fundacion Juan March, Madrid, Spain, March 11-13, 1991.
- Reference location:
New Biologist. 3(7):667-70, 1991 Jul.
- Abstract:
Molecular genetics has recently erupted in the field of flower
development, an area of research traditionally cultivated by plant
physiologists. The isolation and molecular characterization of seven
homeotic genes (four in Antirrhinum majus and three in Arabidopsis
thaliana) that control both floral organogenesis and the transition from
inflorescences to floral meristems is leading to major breakthroughs in
the understanding of the mechanisms governing flower development. This has
already had a great impact among plant physiologists, who are
incorporating mutant analysis into studies of floral induction and flower
development. We are still missing data about the nature of the pollen
product of the S-locus in self-incompatibility systems, although current
experimental approaches might provide this information in the near future.
Gene technology appears to have a high potential in hybrid seed production
through the construction of male sterile plants as well as of plants able
to restore fertility. The study of genes regulating pigment formation in
flowers continues to provide interesting data on gene expression in
plants, in which phenomena such as co-suppression and methylation seem to
play an important role. Altogether, one can predict that very exciting
times are coming in the field of flower development.
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