Development of the Petunia inflorescence

Abstract

Angiosperm species display an amazing variation in the timing and position of flower formation. Comparative genetic analysis in species with different inflorescence architectures, like Arabidopsis and Petunia, provides insight into the genetic alterations underlying these anatomical differences. The picture that emerges is that distinct inflorescence types are controlled by genes encoding conserved proteins, and that the observed diversity results from substantial changes in their expression patterns and regulatory interactions.