Determination of sexual organ development

Plant sexual organ development is initiated from the floral meristem. At early stages, the activation of a set of genes that encode transcription factors determines the identity of the floral organs. These transcription factors are known as organ identity genes, and they form multimeric complexes that bind to target genes to control their expression. The transcriptional regulation of target genes triggers the formation of an organ by activating pathways required for its development initiating a cascade of events that leads to sexual plant reproduction. Here, I review the complex mechanisms involved in transcriptional regulation of organ identity genes and how they determine sexual organ development. Their expression is the result of complex interactions between repressors and activators that are often coexpressed. After the production of floral identity proteins, the formation of multimeric complexes defines target specificity and exerts a transcriptional regulatory effect on the target. Thanks to an increasing knowledge of the molecular control of sexual organ development in multiple species, we are beginning to understand how these genes evolved and how reproductive organ development occurs in different groups of plants. Comparative studies will, in future, provide a new insight into mechanisms of sexual organ development.