Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Plant Physiology logoLink to Plant Physiology
. 1994 Nov;106(3):863–876. doi: 10.1104/pp.106.3.863

The fate of inflorescence meristems is controlled by developing fruits in Arabidopsis.

L L Hensel 1, M A Nelson 1, T A Richmond 1, A B Bleecker 1
PMCID: PMC159609  PMID: 7824655

Abstract

The relationship between fruit development and the proliferative capacities of inflorescence meristems has been examined in Arabidopsis thaliana. In the wild-type Landsberg erecta (Ler) line, flower production ceases coordinately on all inflorescence branches by a process we have designated global proliferative arrest (GPA). Morphological studies indicate that GPA involves a cessation of proliferative activity at the meristems, but a retention of the structural characteristics of the proliferating meristems. GPA does not occur in the male-sterile (ms1-1) line, nor in wild-type Ler when fruits are surgically removed. In these cases, inflorescence meristems continue to proliferate, ultimately terminating by a different process, designated terminal differentiation, in which disruptions in patterning at the apex are followed by the loss of the inflorescence meristem. We present an argument that GPA is mediated by a specific communication system between inflorescence meristems and developing fruits. Analysis of reduced-fertility mutants provided evidence that GPA is dependent on seed development specifically. Mutations conferring hormone deficiency or insensitivity did not disrupt the correlative interactions leading to GPA.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (2.6 MB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Bowman J. L., Smyth D. R., Meyerowitz E. M. Genetic interactions among floral homeotic genes of Arabidopsis. Development. 1991 May;112(1):1–20. doi: 10.1242/dev.112.1.1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Chang C., Schaller G. E., Patterson S. E., Kwok S. F., Meyerowitz E. M., Bleecker A. B. The TMK1 gene from Arabidopsis codes for a protein with structural and biochemical characteristics of a receptor protein kinase. Plant Cell. 1992 Oct;4(10):1263–1271. doi: 10.1105/tpc.4.10.1263. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Chaudhury A. M. Nuclear Genes Controlling Male Fertility. Plant Cell. 1993 Oct;5(10):1277–1283. doi: 10.1105/tpc.5.10.1277. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Ferreira P. C., Hemerly A. S., Villarroel R., Van Montagu M., Inzé D. The Arabidopsis functional homolog of the p34cdc2 protein kinase. Plant Cell. 1991 May;3(5):531–540. doi: 10.1105/tpc.3.5.531. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Hamilton D. A., Davies P. J. Sucrose and Malic Acid as the Compounds Exported to the Apical Bud of Pea following CO(2) Labeling of the Fruit : No Evidence for a Senescence Factor. Plant Physiol. 1988 Oct;88(2):466–472. doi: 10.1104/pp.88.2.466. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Hirayama T., Imajuku Y., Anai T., Matsui M., Oka A. Identification of two cell-cycle-controlling cdc2 gene homologs in Arabidopsis thaliana. Gene. 1991 Sep 15;105(2):159–165. doi: 10.1016/0378-1119(91)90146-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Irish V. F., Sussex I. M. Function of the apetala-1 gene during Arabidopsis floral development. Plant Cell. 1990 Aug;2(8):741–753. doi: 10.1105/tpc.2.8.741. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Kunst L., Klenz J. E., Martinez-Zapater J., Haughn G. W. AP2 Gene Determines the Identity of Perianth Organs in Flowers of Arabidopsis thaliana. Plant Cell. 1989 Dec;1(12):1195–1208. doi: 10.1105/tpc.1.12.1195. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Lee I., Aukerman M. J., Gore S. L., Lohman K. N., Michaels S. D., Weaver L. M., John M. C., Feldmann K. A., Amasino R. M. Isolation of LUMINIDEPENDENS: a gene involved in the control of flowering time in Arabidopsis. Plant Cell. 1994 Jan;6(1):75–83. doi: 10.1105/tpc.6.1.75. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Murneek A. E. EFFECTS OF CORRELATION BETWEEN VEGETATIVE AND REPRODUCTIVE FUNCTIONS IN THE TOMATO (LYCOPERSICON ESCULENTUM MILL.). Plant Physiol. 1926 Jan;1(1):3–56.7. doi: 10.1104/pp.1.1.3. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Pearce G., Strydom D., Johnson S., Ryan C. A. A polypeptide from tomato leaves induces wound-inducible proteinase inhibitor proteins. Science. 1991 Aug 23;253(5022):895–897. doi: 10.1126/science.253.5022.895. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Smyth D. R., Bowman J. L., Meyerowitz E. M. Early flower development in Arabidopsis. Plant Cell. 1990 Aug;2(8):755–767. doi: 10.1105/tpc.2.8.755. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Walker J. C., Zhang R. Relationship of a putative receptor protein kinase from maize to the S-locus glycoproteins of Brassica. Nature. 1990 Jun 21;345(6277):743–746. doi: 10.1038/345743a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Plant Physiology are provided here courtesy of Oxford University Press

RESOURCES