RUI: Molecular Mechanisms of Flower Reversion in Arabidopsis suecica

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Plants produce flowers to complete their life cycle and to reproduce. Flower development requires genetic and structural changes in the tip of the plant shoot as the plant transitions from its vegetative to its reproductive stage. During this time, gene expression patterns also determine the overall arrangement of the flowers, called the inflorescence, into single organs, unbranched or branched clusters, or into compound structures. In most, but not all plant species, the reproductive branches terminate their growth after flowers have given rise to fruits. Our recent study of the oil seed plant Swedish thale-cress (Arabidopsis suecica), a species that normally produces single flower spikes, showed that under certain light conditions this termination is reversed and multiple compound flower spikes are instead produced. The central aim of this project is to understand the genetic mechanisms for this abnormal behavior. Using molecular techniques, including in situ hybridization, gene expression will be compared in normal and abnormal floral tissues, to determine if and how the different distribution of flower development genes leads to the differences in floral architecture. The hypothesis tested is that both strength of gene expression and the distribution of the gene products (the proteins) within the developing inflorescence are responsible for these changes. Understanding the genetic pathways controlling inflorescence development in commercially important oil seed plants could be applied to efforts to enhance seed yield. Creating types with more favorable inflorescence architectures might be useful in biofuel production, for example.This project will provide outstanding training opportunities for undergraduate students. The project will be led by the University of Puget Sound, a primarily undergraduate institution, in collaboration with the University of Washington, and Heritage University, a minority-serving college in central Washington state.