Redundant CArG Box -motif Activity Mediates Transcriptional Regulation during Gynoecium Development.

In the seed pod, pod shatter and seed dispersal properties are in part determined by the development of a longitudinally orientated dehiscence zone (DZ) that derives from cells of the gynoecial valve margin (VM). Transcriptional regulation of the MADS protein encoding transcription factors genes () and () are critical for proper VM identity specification and later on for DZ development. Current models of and regulation indicate that the transcription factors FRUITFULL (FUL) and REPLUMLESS (RPL) repress these genes in the developing valve and replum domains, respectively.

Transcriptomic Signature of the SHATTERPROOF2 Expression Domain Reveals the Meristematic Nature of Arabidopsis Gynoecial Medial Domain.

Plant meristems, like animal stem cell niches, maintain a pool of multipotent, undifferentiated cells that divide and differentiate to give rise to organs. In Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), the carpel margin meristem is a vital meristematic structure that generates ovules from the medial domain of the gynoecium, the female floral reproductive structure. The molecular mechanisms that specify this meristematic region and regulate its organogenic potential are poorly understood.

Auxin and cytokinin act during gynoecial patterning and the development of ovules from the meristematic medial domain.

The gynoecium is the female reproductive structure of flowering plants, and is the site of ovule and seed development. The gynoecium is critical for reproductive competence and for agricultural productivity in many crop plants. In this review we focus on molecular aspects of the development of the Arabidopsis thaliana gynoecium.