Molecular and genetic analyses of flower homeotic genes ofArabidopsis

Recent genetic and molecular analyses usingArabidopsis has revealed basic mechanisms of floral pattern formation. Here is outlined a genetic model of flower morphogenesis. This shows that combinations of floral organ identity genes direct the organ type and the place in the flower bud. After molecular cloning of these genes, the hypothesis is supported at the molecular level. Molecular analyses of homologous genes from other plants show the same system of flower morphogenesis is shared widely among distantly related species.