Publications by authors named "M F Yanofsky"
After a vegetative phase, plants initiate the floral transition in response to both environmental and endogenous cues to optimize reproductive success. During this process, the vegetative shoot apical meristem (SAM), which was producing leaves and branches, becomes an inflorescence SAM and starts producing flowers. Inflorescences can be classified in two main categories, depending on the fate of the inflorescence meristem: determinate or indeterminate.
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- Fruits have special structures that help plants grow and spread their seeds, especially after they are fertilized.
- When seeds start to grow, they send signals to help the fruit grow bigger and take its final shape.
- This study used cool technology to look closely at how fruit grows after fertilization, finding that fruit grows in stages rather than different areas like leaves do.
Ovule formation is a complex developmental process in plants, with a strong impact on the production of seeds. Ovule primordia initiation is controlled by a gene network, including components of the signaling pathways of auxin, brassinosteroids and cytokinins. By contrast, gibberellins (GAs) and DELLA proteins, the negative regulators of GA signaling, have never been shown to be involved in ovule initiation.
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- Monocarpic plants, which reproduce only once in their lifetime, experience a global proliferative arrest (GPA) that determines their lifespan, but the mechanisms behind this process are not well understood.
- Researchers have identified a genetic pathway in Arabidopsis that regulates GPA in response to age and operates alongside signals from developing seeds.
- The gene FRUITFULL (FUL) plays a crucial role in this pathway by promoting meristem arrest, with mutations in FUL leading to delayed GPA and increased fruit production, impacting key gene expressions involved in meristem maintenance.
Ovules are fundamental for plant reproduction and crop yield as they are the precursors of seeds. Therefore, ovule specification is a critical developmental program. In Arabidopsis thaliana, ovule identity is redundantly conferred by the homeotic D-class genes SHATTERPROOF1 (SHP1), SHP2 and SEEDSTICK (STK), phylogenetically related to the MADS-domain regulatory gene AGAMOUS (AG), essential in floral organ specification.
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