Plant Reproductive Transition and Flower Development

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2014) | Viewed by 31588

Special Issue Editor

Department of Molecular Genetics, The Ohio State University, 318 W. 12th Ave., 500 Aronoff Laboratory, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
Interests: the role of transcriptional control during pattern formation; transcriptional regulation; flower development

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The transition from vegetative to reproductive development in plants is arguably the most important part of angiosperm life cycles. The transition is also a key to the diversification of this group of plants. In addition, flowering is essential for many aspects of agriculture. Many crops consist of flowers or their products (fruits and seeds); such crops include the cereals that provide most of the calories for a majority of the world’s human and livestock populations. An understanding of the factors that control flowering time, reproductive transition, and the subsequent formation of functional flowers will aid in helping agriculture face a changing environment.

This Special Issue hopes to highlight recent developments in the biology of flowering. Research and review papers on flowering time control, the switch from vegetative to reproductive growth, and flower development are welcome. Papers that extend the scientific knowledge concerning the control of these processes in non-model or developing model plant species are of particular interest.

Dr. Rebecca S. Lamb
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • flowering time
  • phase transition
  • reproductive transition
  • flower development
  • transcriptional control of flowering

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

546 KiB  
Article
Pistil Smut Infection Increases Ovary Production, Seed Yield Components, and Pseudosexual Reproductive Allocation in Buffalograss
by Ambika Chandra and David R. Huff
Plants 2014, 3(4), 594-612; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants3040594 - 01 Dec 2014
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 8024
Abstract
Sex expression of dioecious buffalograss [Bouteloua dactyloides Columbus (syn. Buchloë dactyloides (Nutt.) Engelm.)] is known to be environmentally stable with approximate 1:1, male to female, sex ratios. Here we show that infection by the pistil smut fungus [Salmacisia buchloëana Huff & [...] Read more.
Sex expression of dioecious buffalograss [Bouteloua dactyloides Columbus (syn. Buchloë dactyloides (Nutt.) Engelm.)] is known to be environmentally stable with approximate 1:1, male to female, sex ratios. Here we show that infection by the pistil smut fungus [Salmacisia buchloëana Huff & Chandra (syn. Tilletia buchloëana Kellerman and Swingle)] shifts sex ratios of buffalograss to be nearly 100% phenotypically hermaphroditic. In addition, pistil smut infection decreased vegetative reproductive allocation, increased most seed yield components, and increased pseudosexual reproductive allocation in both sex forms compared to uninfected clones. In female sex forms, pistil smut infection resulted in a 26 fold increase in ovary production and a 35 fold increase in potential harvest index. In male sex forms, pistil smut infection resulted in 2.37 fold increase in floret number and over 95% of these florets contained a well-developed pistil. Although all ovaries of infected plants are filled with fungal teliospores and hence reproductively sterile, an average male-female pair of infected plants exhibited an 87 fold increase in potential harvest index compared to their uninfected clones. Acquiring an ability to mimic the effects of pistil smut infection would enhance our understanding of the flowering process in grasses and our efforts to increase seed yield of buffalograss and perhaps other grasses. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Reproductive Transition and Flower Development)
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1287 KiB  
Article
Quantifying the Effects of Photoperiod, Temperature and Daily Irradiance on Flowering Time of Soybean Isolines
by Elroy R. Cober, Daniel F. Curtis, Douglas W. Stewart and Malcolm J. Morrison
Plants 2014, 3(4), 476-497; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants3040476 - 07 Nov 2014
Cited by 22 | Viewed by 7892
Abstract
Soybean isolines with different combinations of photoperiod sensitivity alleles were planted in a greenhouse at different times during the year resulting in natural variation in daily incident irradiance and duration. The time from planting to first flower were observed. Mathematical models, using additive [...] Read more.
Soybean isolines with different combinations of photoperiod sensitivity alleles were planted in a greenhouse at different times during the year resulting in natural variation in daily incident irradiance and duration. The time from planting to first flower were observed. Mathematical models, using additive and multiplicative modes, were developed to quantify the effect of photoperiod, temperature, photoperiod-temperature interactions, rate of photoperiod change, and daily solar irradiance on flowering time. Observed flowering times correlated with predicted times (R2 = 0.92, Standard Error of the Estimate (SSE) = 2.84 d, multiplicative mode; R2 = 0.91, SSE = 2.88 d, additive mode). The addition of a rate of photoperiod change function and an irradiance function to the temperature and photoperiod functions improved the accuracy of flowering time prediction. The addition of a modified photoperiod function, which allowed for photoperiod sensitivity at shorter photoperiods, improved prediction of flowering time. Both increasing and decreasing rate of photoperiod change, as well as low levels of daily irradiance delayed flowering in soybean. The complete model, which included terms for the rate of photoperiod change, photoperiod, temperature and irradiance, predicted time to first flower in soybean across a range of environmental conditions with an SEE of 3.6 days when tested with independent data. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Reproductive Transition and Flower Development)
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979 KiB  
Article
The Half-Size ABC Transporter FOLDED PETALS 2/ABCG13 Is Involved in Petal Elongation through Narrow Spaces in Arabidopsis thaliana Floral Buds
by Seiji Takeda, Akira Iwasaki, Kiyoshi Tatematsu and Kiyotaka Okada
Plants 2014, 3(3), 348-358; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants3030348 - 15 Aug 2014
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 7866
Abstract
Flowers are vital for attracting pollinators to plants and in horticulture for humans. Petal morphogenesis is a central process of floral development. Petal development can be divided into three main processes: the establishment of organ identity in a concentric pattern, primordia initiation at [...] Read more.
Flowers are vital for attracting pollinators to plants and in horticulture for humans. Petal morphogenesis is a central process of floral development. Petal development can be divided into three main processes: the establishment of organ identity in a concentric pattern, primordia initiation at fixed positions within a whorl, and morphogenesis, which includes petal elongation through the narrow spaces within the bud. Here, we show that the FOLDED PETALS 2 (FOP2) gene, encoding a member of the half-size ATP binding cassette (ABC) transporter family ABCG13, is involved in straight elongation of petals in Arabidopsis thaliana. In fop2 mutants, flowers open with folded petals, instead of straight-elongated ones found in the wild type. The epicuticular nanoridge structures are absent in many abaxial epidermal cells of fop2 petals, and surgical or genetic generation of space in young fop2 buds restores the straight elongation of petals, suggesting that the physical contact of sepals and petals causes the petal folding. Similar petal folding has been reported in the fop1 mutant, and the petals of fop2 fop1 double mutants resemble those of both the fop1 and fop2 single mutants, although the epidermal structure and permeability of the petal surface is more affected in fop2. Our results suggest that synthesis and transport of cutin or wax in growing petals play an important role for their smooth elongation through the narrow spaces of floral buds. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Reproductive Transition and Flower Development)
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790 KiB  
Article
Shielding Flowers Developing under Stress: Translating Theory to Field Application
by Noam Chayut, Shiri Sobol, Nahum Nave and Alon Samach
Plants 2014, 3(3), 304-323; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants3030304 - 11 Jul 2014
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 7125
Abstract
Developing reproductive organs within a flower are sensitive to environmental stress. A higher incidence of environmental stress during this stage of a crop plants’ developmental cycle will lead to major breaches in food security. Clearly, we need to understand this sensitivity and try [...] Read more.
Developing reproductive organs within a flower are sensitive to environmental stress. A higher incidence of environmental stress during this stage of a crop plants’ developmental cycle will lead to major breaches in food security. Clearly, we need to understand this sensitivity and try and overcome it, by agricultural practices and/or the breeding of more tolerant cultivars. Although passion fruit vines initiate flowers all year round, flower primordia abort during warm summers. This restricts the season of fruit production in regions with warm summers. Previously, using controlled chambers, stages in flower development that are sensitive to heat were identified. Based on genetic analysis and physiological experiments in controlled environments, gibberellin activity appeared to be a possible point of horticultural intervention. Here, we aimed to shield flowers of a commercial cultivar from end of summer conditions, thus allowing fruit production in new seasons. We conducted experiments over three years in different settings, and our findings consistently show that a single application of an inhibitor of gibberellin biosynthesis to vines in mid-August can cause precocious flowering of ~2–4 weeks, leading to earlier fruit production of ~1 month. In this case, knowledge obtained on phenology, environmental constraints and genetic variation, allowed us to reach a practical solution. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Reproductive Transition and Flower Development)
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