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Bilateral flower symmetry--how, when and why?
1University of Kansas, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, 1200 Sunnyside Avenue, Lawrence, KS 66045, USA.
Current Opinion in Plant Biology
|February 11, 2014
Summary
Bilateral flower symmetry, crucial for plant diversity, is genetically controlled in Snapdragon. Research integrates genetics and modeling to understand petal shape and its repeated evolution across species.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary developmental biology
- Plant genetics
- Floral evolution
Background:
- Bilateral flower symmetry has evolved repeatedly in flowering plants, potentially driving species diversification.
- Understanding the genetic basis of this symmetry is key to comprehending floral evolution.
- Snapdragon (Antirrhinum majus) serves as a model system for studying floral symmetry genetics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review current understanding of the genetic control of bilateral flower symmetry in Snapdragon.
- To explore the integration of genetic findings with mathematical modeling for petal shape analysis.
- To examine evolutionary studies on the repeated recruitment of genetic programs for symmetry.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing literature on Snapdragon genetics and floral symmetry.
- Integration of genetic data with mathematical and computational modeling approaches.
- Analysis of evolutionary studies investigating parallel evolution of floral symmetry.
Main Results:
- Detailed insights into the genes and genetic interactions governing Snapdragon flower symmetry.
- Mathematical modeling provided new understanding of quantitative petal shape control.
- Evolutionary studies demonstrate parallel genetic recruitment for bilateral symmetry across different species.
Conclusions:
- The genetic architecture of Snapdragon flower symmetry is well-elucidated.
- Interdisciplinary approaches combining genetics and modeling offer powerful tools for studying quantitative traits.
- Repeated evolution of bilateral symmetry involves the conserved recruitment of similar genetic pathways.
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