Arabidopsis flower development--of protein complexes, targets, and transport

Tremendous progress has been achieved over the past 25 years or more of research on the molecular mechanisms of floral organ identity, patterning, and development. While collections of floral homeotic mutants of Antirrhinum majus laid the foundation already at the beginning of the previous century, it was the genetic analysis of these mutants in A. majus and Arabidopsis thaliana that led to the development of the ABC model of floral organ identity more than 20 years ago. This intuitive model kick-started research focused on the genetic mechanisms regulating flower development, using mainly A. thaliana as a model plant. In recent years, interactions among floral homeotic proteins have been elucidated, and their direct and indirect target genes are known to a large extent. Here, we provide an overview over the advances in understanding the molecular mechanism orchestrating A. thaliana flower development. We focus on floral homeotic protein complexes, their target genes, evidence for their transport in floral primordia, and how these new results advance our view on the processes downstream of floral organ identity, such as organ boundary formation or floral organ patterning.