CAULIFLOWER

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CAULIFLOWER (CAL ) is a flower meristem identity gene and is closely related to APETALA1 (AP1 ), and these two gene products share 76% identical and 88% similar amino acid sequences. cal mutant plants are phenotypically wildtype, whereas mutations in the CAL gene dramatically enhance the phenotype of ap1 mutants, resulting in the massive proliferation of inflorescence-like meristems (the "cauliflower" phenotype). 

LINKS

Gene Sequence

Map position

Thus, CAL and AP1 are closely related MADS-box genes whose activities overlap in the specification of flower meristem identity.

cal_early_bf.gif (19374 bytes)cal_early_df.gif (21083 bytes)Like AP1 , CAL RNA accumulates in young flower primordia as they arise on the flanks of the inflorescence meristem. Shown below are bright field (left) and bright/dark-field double exposures (right), and the red hybridization signal indicates the accumulation of CAL RNA.

Selected References:

Bowman, J.L., Alvarez, J., Weigel, D., Meyerowitz, E.M., and Smyth, D.R. (1993). Control of flower development in Arabidopsis thaliana by APETALA1 and interacting genes. Development, 119:721-743.

Kempin, S.A., Savidge, B., and Yanofsky, M.F. (1995) Molecular basis of the cauliflower phenotype in Arabidopsis . Science 267:522-525.