Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 23, 2026

Investigating Interactions Between Histone Modifying Enzymes and Transcription Factors in vivo by Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer
Published on: October 14, 2022
Old dogs, new tricks: regulatory evolution in conserved genetic modules leads to novel morphologies in plants
1Organismic and Evolutionary Biology Department, Harvard University, 16 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
Abstract:
The importance of regulatory evolution to the diversification of plant morphology is well recognized. Some of the best-understood examples also involve gene duplication and co-option of deeply conserved genetic modules. These instances underscore the important role of gene duplication events, which are associated with regulatory sub- and neofunctionalization. In particular, we discuss the relationship between regulatory evolution following gene duplication and the evolution of floral novelty. We also consider the repeated co-option of TCP gene family members to promote aspects of floral symmetry and the KNOX/ARP meristem genetic module to control compound leaf development. Both of these patterns of genetic convergence involve modifications of an ancestral regulatory network to create novel expression domains. Overall, such examples highlight the interdependence of the three processes--regulatory evolution, gene duplication and co-option--within the context of plant developmental evolution.
Related Concept Videos
Evolution of New Traits in Microbes
Cis-regulatory Sequences
Overview of Transposition and Recombination
Transgenic Plants
The first-ever transgenic plant was a tobacco plant developed in 1983 that showed resistance against the tobacco mosaic virus. Since then, many transgenic plants have been developed and commercialized for improving the agricultural, ornamental, and horticultural value of a crop plant. Transgenic...
Genome Size and the Evolution of New Genes
Genome Size and the Evolution of New Genes
