XAANTAL2 (AGL14) Is an Important Component of the Complex Gene Regulatory Network that Underlies Arabidopsis Shoot Apical Meristem Transitions.

In Arabidopsis thaliana, multiple genes involved in shoot apical meristem (SAM) transitions have been characterized, but the mechanisms required for the dynamic attainment of vegetative, inflorescence, and floral meristem (VM, IM, FM) cell fates during SAM transitions are not well understood. Here we show that a MADS-box gene, XAANTAL2 (XAL2/AGL14), is necessary and sufficient to induce flowering, and its regulation is important in FM maintenance and determinacy. xal2 mutants are late flowering, particularly under short-day (SD) condition, while XAL2 overexpressing plants are early flowering, but their flowers have vegetative traits.

At3g08030 transcript: a molecular marker of seed ageing.

Background And Aims: Prolonged storage generally reduces seed viability and vigour, although the rate of deterioration varies among species and environmental conditions. Here, we suggest a possible ageing molecular marker: At3g08030 mRNA. At3g08030 is a member of the DUF642 highly conserved family of cell-wall-associated proteins that is specific for spermatophytes.

Flower development.

Flowers are the most complex structures of plants. Studies of Arabidopsis thaliana, which has typical eudicot flowers, have been fundamental in advancing the structural and molecular understanding of flower development. The main processes and stages of Arabidopsis flower development are summarized to provide a framework in which to interpret the detailed molecular genetic studies of genes assigned functions during flower development and is extended to recent genomics studies uncovering the key regulatory modules involved.

An AGAMOUS-related MADS-box gene, XAL1 (AGL12), regulates root meristem cell proliferation and flowering transition in Arabidopsis.

MADS-box genes are key components of the networks that control the transition to flowering and flower development, but their role in vegetative development is poorly understood. This article shows that the sister gene of the AGAMOUS (AG) clade, AGL12, has an important role in root development as well as in flowering transition. We isolated three mutant alleles for AGL12, which is renamed here as XAANTAL1 (XAL1): Two alleles, xal1-1 and xal1-2, are in Columbia ecotype and xal1-3 is in Landsberg erecta ecotype.