Comparative Genomics of Angiosperm MADS-Box Genes

植物MADS-box基因编码多种关键发育过程所需的转录调控因子，包括器官识别、开花、果实发育、根系发育和模式形成。这个基因家族在维管植物的进化过程中发生了巨大的变化，特别是在被子植物中，导致了现代开花植物物种中大量的这些基因。目前的问题是确定这些MADS-box基因的作用，以及理解导致它们功能多样性的进化变化。在多种植物物种中克隆和测序MADS-box基因将为解决这一问题奠定基础。这些序列将用于一系列的系统发育分析，以确定这些基因之间的关系。了解MADS-box基因编码的功能多样性，以及这些过程如何通过维管植物的进化被修改的知识，将是制定有针对性的策略来操纵非模式植物物种的生长和发育的关键。

Plant MADS-box genes encode transcriptional regulators that are required for a variety of critical developmental processes, including organ identity, flowering, fruit development, root development, and pattern formation. This family of genes has diversified dramatically during the evolution of vascular plants, and especially within the angiosperms, resulting in the large number of these genes in modern flowering plant species. The problem at hand is to define the roles of these MADS-box genes, as well as to understand the evolutionary changes that resulted in their great diversity of functions. Cloning and sequencing MADS-box genes in a variety of plant species will lay the groundwork to address this question. These sequences will be used in a series of phylogenetic analyses to determine the relationships among these genes. Understanding the diversity of functions encoded by the MADS-box genes, coupled with knowledge of how these processes have been modified through the evolution of vascular plants, will be key in developing targeted strategies for manipulating the growth and development of non-model plant species.