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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Albany, California » Plant Gene Expression Center » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #135998
Title: REPRODUCTIVE DEVELOPMENT

Author
item BEWLEY, J. DEREK - UNIV GUELPH, ONTARIO
item McCormick, Sheila
item ZAMBRYSKI, PATRICIA - UC BERKELEY
item HEMPEL, FREDERICK - UC BERKELEY

Submitted to: Book Chapter
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/30/2000
Publication Date: 7/30/2000
Citation: BEWLEY, J., MCCORMICK, S.M., ZAMBRYSKI, P., HEMPEL, F.D. Reproductive Development. 2000.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Throughout history, humans have celebrated the beauty and fertility of flowering plants. In addition to their aesthetic appeal, flowers contain the reproductive organs of the plant and are therefore essential for sexual propagation of plant life. Our dependence on flowering is illustrated by the dietary importance of fruits and seed crops. Advances in molecular biology and biochemistry are now revealing the cellular mechanisms that underlie the development and symmetry of flowers and the nutritive value of seeds. In this chapter, we describe how flowering is induced and how flower primordia are patterned, the production and union of male and female gametes. Finally, we will illustrate the formation of seeds, in which plant embryos are packaged and remain quiescent until induced to germinate. Throughout the chapter we will highlight recent developments in genetics, molecular biology, and biochemistry that are being utilized to unravel the details of reproductive mechanisms in plants.