This proposal is aimed at the identification and analyses of genes which function downstream of the floral homeotic gene AGAMOUS (AG) in the processes of floral organ formation and floral meristem determinacy specification. Two approaches will be employed for this purpose: a genetic approach to isolate suppressors or enhancers of ag mutants, and a molecular approach (differential-display reverse-transcription PCR) to isolate genes regulated by AG. The organogenesis of stamens and carpels (the floral organs specified by AG) must involve complex processes of cell-cell communication, highly controlled cell division and cell growth, cell type specification and tissue type specification. The determinacy of floral meristems ultimately concerns the decision the cells in the meristem have to make between terminal differentiation and maintenance of meristematic cell fates. Therefore, studying the genes involved in these processes will not only further our knowledge in flower development in plants, but also contribute to our understanding of the basic biological problems of cell growth and differentiation, and thus perhaps our fight against uncontrolled cell growth and de-differentiation, cancer.
