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Molecular Mechanisms of Flower Development and Plant Reproduction
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Molecular Mechanisms of Flower Development and Plant Reproduction

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Molecular Biology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2025 | Viewed by 7614

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Maria Helena S. Goldman

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Biology, FFCLRP, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto 14040-901, SP, Brazil
Interests: plant molecular biology; plant genetics; plant sexual reproduction; plant development; flowering; flower development; gene expression; pollen-pistil interaction
Dr. Maria Manuela Ribeiro Costa

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Centre of Molecular and Environmental Biology (CBMA), University of Minho, Campus de Gualtar, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal
Interests: plant reproduction; plant development and evo-devo; flowering; transcriptional regulation; plant genetics and genomics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The molecular mechanisms of flower development and plant reproduction are complex and delicate processes involving the interaction of multiple genes and proteins. The gene-level regulation is central to this process, including genes that control when and how flowers develop, forming networks that coordinate flower form and function. The protein-level regulation also plays a key role, particularly transcription factors, splicing factors and signal transduction proteins, which control the expression of specific genes and transmit signals between cells and even distant parts of the plant. Additionally, environmental factors such as photoperiod, temperature and nutritional conditions affect flowering which, in many cases, occur through the production of alternatively spliced transcripts. In due course, the transition from vegetative to reproductive growth is a key stage in the plant life cycle, and it involves the conversion of the vegetative shoot apical meristem to floral meristem, which in turn leads to the development of flower organs. Compatible pollen–pistil interactions allow fertilization to occur and ultimately determine the production of fruits and seeds. These complex molecular mechanisms ensure the reproductive success of plants.

This Special Issue highlights our latest understanding of the molecular mechanisms of flower development and plant reproduction. We welcome all articles (original research, methods, opinions and reviews) on these topics.

Dr. Maria Helena S. Goldman
Dr. Maria Manuela Ribeiro Costa
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Plants is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • gene expression
  • protein–protein interaction
  • transcription factor
  • splicing factor
  • environmental cues
  • alternative splicing
  • signal transduction
  • inflorescence meristem
  • flower meristem
  • flower organ development
  • pollen–pistil interaction
  • fruit development

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 3179 KiB  
Article
Possible Mechanism of Sucrose and Trehalose-6-Phosphate in Regulating the Secondary Flower on the Strong Upright Spring Shoots of Blueberry Planted in Greenhouse
by Hui-Ling Wu, Sui-Lin Zhang, Xin Feng, Ya-Qian Zhang, Bing-Jie Zhou, Man Cao, Ya-Ping Wang, Bao-Shi Guo and Zhi-Xia Hou
Plants 2024, 13(17), 2350; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13172350 - 23 Aug 2024
Viewed by 656
Abstract
Secondary flowering is the phenomenon in which a tree blooms twice or more times a year. Along with the development of blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.) fruits in spring, a large number of secondary flowers on the strong upright spring shoots were noticed [...] Read more.
Secondary flowering is the phenomenon in which a tree blooms twice or more times a year. Along with the development of blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.) fruits in spring, a large number of secondary flowers on the strong upright spring shoots were noticed in blueberries planted in the greenhouse. To reveal the cause and possible regulatory mechanism of the phenomenon, we clarified the phenological characteristics of flower bud differentiation and development on the spring shoots by combining phenological phenotype with anatomical observation. Furthermore, the changes in carbohydrates, trehalose-6-phosphate (Tre6P), and the relationship among the key enzyme regulatory genes for Tre6P metabolism and the key regulatory genes for flower formation during the differentiation process of apical buds and axillary buds were investigated. The results showed that the process of flower bud differentiation and flowering of apical and axillary buds was consistent, accompanied by a large amount of carbohydrate consumption. This process was positively correlated with the expression trends of VcTPS1/2, VcSnRK1, VcFT, VcLFY2, VcSPL43, VcAP1, and VcDAM in general, and negatively correlated with that of VcTPP. In addition, there is a certain difference in the differentiation progress of flower buds between the apical and axillary buds. Compared with axillary buds, apical buds had higher contents of sucrose, fructose, glucose, Tre6P, and higher expression levels of VcTPS2, VcFT, VcSPL43, and VcAP1. Moreover, VcTPS1 and VcTPS2 were more closely related to the physiological substances (sucrose and Tre6P) in axillary bud and apical bud differentiation, respectively. It was suggested that sucrose and trehalose-6-phosphate play a crucial role in promoting flower bud differentiation in strong upright spring shoots, and VcTPS1 and VcTPS2 might play a central role in these activities. Our study provided substantial sight for further study on the mechanism of multiple flowering of blueberries and laid a foundation for the regulation and utilization of the phenomenon of multiple flowering in a growing season of perennial woody plants. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Mechanisms of Flower Development and Plant Reproduction)
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16 pages, 6594 KiB  
Article
GhSWEET42 Regulates Flowering Time under Long-Day Conditions in Arabidopsis thaliana
by Mengxue Du, Deying Wang, Jingyu Li, Taotao Zhu, Peng Lyu, Gang Li, Yi Ding, Xinxin Liu, Qingmei Men, Xiaofei Li, Yongwang Sun, Lingzhi Meng and Shangjing Guo
Plants 2024, 13(16), 2181; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13162181 - 6 Aug 2024
Viewed by 2964
Abstract
Flowering in plants is pivotal for initiating and advancing reproductive processes, impacting regional adaptation and crop yield. Despite numerous cloned and identified flowering time genes, research in cotton remains sparse. This study identified GhSWEET42 as a key determinant of the flowering time in [...] Read more.
Flowering in plants is pivotal for initiating and advancing reproductive processes, impacting regional adaptation and crop yield. Despite numerous cloned and identified flowering time genes, research in cotton remains sparse. This study identified GhSWEET42 as a key determinant of the flowering time in cotton, demonstrating that its heterologous expression in Arabidopsis accelerated flowering under LD conditions compared to WT. Transgenic plants exhibited upregulated expression of the flowering inducers AtFT, AtSOC1, AtGI, and AtFKF1, alongside downregulated expression of the repressors AtTSF, AtFLC, and AtRGL2, correlating with the earlier flowering phenotype. GhSWEET42 showed a constitutive expression pattern, with elevated levels in the leaves, petals, and flower buds, and was notably higher in early-maturing cotton varieties. Subcellular localization assays confirmed GhSWEET42’s presence on the cell membrane. Transcriptome analysis between WT and GhSWEET42-overexpressing Arabidopsis plants revealed 2393 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), spanning 221 biological processes, 93 molecular functions, and 37 cellular components according to Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analysis. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis categorized the DEGs into metabolism and environmental information processing. These findings enhance the understanding of GhSWEET42’s function and provide a foundation for elucidating the molecular mechanisms governing flowering time regulation in cotton. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Mechanisms of Flower Development and Plant Reproduction)
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20 pages, 4318 KiB  
Article
A SEPALLATA MADS-Box Transcription Factor, SlMBP21, Functions as a Negative Regulator of Flower Number and Fruit Yields in Tomato
by Jianling Zhang, Tingting Dong, Zongli Hu, Jing Li, Mingku Zhu and Guoping Chen
Plants 2024, 13(10), 1421; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13101421 - 20 May 2024
Viewed by 1504
Abstract
MADS-box transcription factors act as the crucial regulators in plant organ differentiation. Crop yields are highly influenced by the flower number and fruit growth. However, flower identification is a very complex biological process, which involves many cascade regulations. The molecular mechanisms underlying the [...] Read more.
MADS-box transcription factors act as the crucial regulators in plant organ differentiation. Crop yields are highly influenced by the flower number and fruit growth. However, flower identification is a very complex biological process, which involves many cascade regulations. The molecular mechanisms underlying the genetic regulation of flower identification in cultivated plants, such as tomato, are intricate and require further exploration. In this study, we investigated the vital function of a SEPALLATA (SEP) MADS-box gene, SlMBP21, in tomato sympodial inflorescence meristem (SIM) development for the conversion from SIMs to floral meristems (FMs). SlMBP21 transcripts were primarily accumulated in young inflorescence meristem, flowers, sepals, and abscission zones. The Ailsa Craig (AC++) tomato plants with suppressed SlMBP21 mRNA levels using RNAi exhibited a large increase in flower number and fruit yields in addition to enlarged sepals and inhibited abscission zone development. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed that the maturation of inflorescence meristems (IMs) was repressed in SlMBP21-RNAi lines. RNA-seq and qRT-PCR analyses showed that numerous genes related to the flower development, plant hormone signal transduction, cell cycle, and cell proliferation et al. were dramatically changed in SlMBP21-RNAi lines. Yeast two-hybrid assay exhibited that SlMBP21 can respectively interact with SlCMB1, SFT, JOINTLESS, and MC, which play key roles in inflorescence meristems or FM development. In summary, our data demonstrate that SlMBP21 functions as a key regulator in SIM development and the conversion from SIMs to FMs, through interacting with other regulatory proteins to control the expression of related genes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Mechanisms of Flower Development and Plant Reproduction)
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19 pages, 4498 KiB  
Article
Calmodulin-Domain Protein Kinase PiCDPK1 Interacts with the 14-3-3-like Protein NtGF14 to Modulate Pollen Tube Growth
by Nolan Scheible, Paige M. Henning and Andrew G. McCubbin
Plants 2024, 13(3), 451; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13030451 - 3 Feb 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2121
Abstract
Calcium-mediated signaling pathways are known to play important roles in the polar growth of pollen tubes. The calcium-dependent protein kinase, PiCDPK1, has been shown to be involved in regulating this process through interaction with a guanine dissociation inhibitor, PiRhoGDI1. To more fully understand [...] Read more.
Calcium-mediated signaling pathways are known to play important roles in the polar growth of pollen tubes. The calcium-dependent protein kinase, PiCDPK1, has been shown to be involved in regulating this process through interaction with a guanine dissociation inhibitor, PiRhoGDI1. To more fully understand the role of PiCDPK1 in pollen tube extension, we designed a pull-down study to identify additional substrates of this kinase. These experiments identified 123 putative interactors. Two of the identified proteins were predicted to directly interact with PiCDPK1, and this possibility was investigated in planta. The first, NtGF14, a 14-3-3-like protein, did not produce a noticeable phenotype when overexpressed in pollen alone but partially rescued the spherical tube phenotype caused by PiCDPK1 over-expression when co-over-expressed with the kinase. The second, NtREN1, a GTPase activating protein (GAP), severely inhibited pollen tube germination when over-expressed, and its co-over-expression with PiCDPK1 did not substantially affect this phenotype. These results suggest a novel in vivo interaction between NtGF14 and PiCDPK1 but do not support the direct interaction between PiCDPK1 and NtREN1. We demonstrate the utility of the methodology used to identify potential protein interactions while confirming the necessity of additional studies to confirm their validity. Finally, additional support was found for intersection between PiCDPK1 and RopGTPase pathways to control polar growth at the pollen tube tip. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Mechanisms of Flower Development and Plant Reproduction)
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