Tree peony (Paeonia suffricotisa) cultivars have a unique character compared with wild species; the stamen petalody results in increased whorls of petals and generates different flower forms, which are one of the most important traits for cultivar classification. In order to investigate how petaloid stamens are formed, we obtained the coding sequence (666 bp) and genomic DNA sequence of the PsT...

To identify genes involved in Arabidopsis thaliana petal and stamen organogenesis, we used a gene trap approach to examine the patterns of reporter expression at each stage of flower development of 1765 gene trap lines. In 80 lines, the reporter gene showed petal- and/or stamen-specific expression or lack of expression, or expression in distinct patterns within the petals and/or the stamens, in...

The Arabidopsis homeotic genes APETALA3 (AP3) and PISTILLATA (PI) are B genes which encode MADS-box transcription factors and specify petal and stamen identities. In the current study, the stamen carpelloid (SC) mutants, HGMS and AMS, of B. rapa and B. napus were investigated and two types of AP3 genes, B.AP3.a and B.AP3.b, were functional characterized. B.AP3.a and B.AP3.b share high similarit...

Successful automatic self-pollination in flowering plants is dependent on the correct development of reproductive organs. In the stamen, the appropriate growth of the filament, which largely depends on the mechanical properties of the cell wall, is required to position the anther correctly close to the stigma at the pollination stage. Xyloglucan endotransglucosylase/hydrolases (XTHs) are a fami...

The phytohormone gibberellin (GA) regulates the development and fertility of Arabidopsis flowers. The mature flowers of GA-deficient mutant plants typically exhibit reduced elongation growth of petals and stamens. In addition, GA-deficiency blocks anther development, resulting in male sterility. Previous analyses have shown that GA promotes the elongation of plant organs by opposing the functio...

The floral quartet model proposes that plant MADS box proteins function as higher order tetrameric complexes. However, in planta evidence for tetramers remains scarce. Here, we applied a strategy using vivo fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) based on the distance change and symmetry of stable complexes tobacco (Nicotiana benthamiana) leaf cells to improve accuracy estimation heterote...

An agamic complex of 20- and 10-stamen, black-fruited hawthorns (Crataegus subg. Sanguineae, sect. Douglasianae) occurs in western North America, with a 10-stamen taxon disjunct the upper Great Lakes basin. Here, we recircumscribe 20-stamen taxa at core this (C. ser. Douglasianae). This is needed order to distinguish between presumptively ancestral diploid its allo- autopolyploid derivatives, a...

BACKGROUND Jatropha curcas is thought to be a promising biofuel material, but its yield is restricted by a low ratio of instaminate/staminate flowers (1/10-1/30). Furthermore, valuable information about flower sex differentiation in this plant is scarce. To explore the mechanism of this process in J. curcas, transcriptome profiling of flower development was carried out, and certain genes relate...

When Microbotryum lychnidis-dioicae infects a male Silene latifolia, M. lychnidis-dioicae smut spores develop in the pollen sac instead of pollen. In contrast, when M. lychnidis-dioicae infects a female S. latifolia, the female flowers become male-like, promoting stamen formation. However, it is unclear when and how M. lychnidis-dioicae invades the anther. It is important to investigate not onl...

Flavonoids, are a large class of polyphenols, with more than 4000 combinations. They have an antioxidant role in plant photosynthesis and in the human body they optimally act as an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer and protector of the heart. Quercetin is in the flavonol group that is used to fight protection specifically against viruses and cancer cells. In this study, Comparison of e...