Evolutionary genetics of carpel development using California poppy (Eschscholzia californica) as a new model species

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All flowering plants have carpels, female reproductive structures that enclose the eggs and subsequently develop into seedpods and fruits. Carpel development genes are being defined in the model species Arabidopsis, an advanced flowering plant. But the evolutionary origin of carpels is not clear. In this project, we will identify and characterize genes that control carpel development in a more primitive plant, California poppy (Eschscholzia californica). This new model species is a basal eudicot that can be manipulated transgenically. Comparison of carpel genes in poppy and Arabidopsis will help reveal core genes that underlie carpel development in all flowering plants. This will allow us to identify genes that play the same important role in carpel development across dicots, and also those that play more specialized roles. The underlying question is how gene networks, consisting of developmental genes from different gene families, govern plant development and how these networks evolve resulting in changes to plant structure.