A flower is born: an update on Arabidopsis floral meristem formation

Abstract

In Arabidopsis, floral meristems appear on the flanks of the inflorescence meristem. Their stereotypic development, ultimately producing the four whorls of floral organs, is essentially controlled by a network coordinating growth and cell-fate determination. This network integrates hormonal signals, transcriptional regulators, and mechanical constraints. Mechanisms regulating floral meristem formation have been studied at many different scales, from protein structure to tissue modeling. In this paper, we review recent findings related to the emergence of the floral meristem and floral fate determination and examine how this field has been impacted by recent technological developments.