Genetic Control of Floral Transition in Cereals

Abstract

The transition from vegetative to reproductive phase is of great fundamental and applied interest but is still poorly
understood. Recently genetic-molecular approaches have been used to dissect this process in Arabidopsis. As the
genes controlling floral induction in Arabidopsis becomebetter defined, there is a need to address howthey correspond
to genes that regulate flowering in other agronomically important species. A focused effort on comparative mapping
will be required to establish the potential correspondence of different genes in different species. Isolation of putative
orthologs in different species and mutant’s expression patterns reveal evolutionary conserved elements in flower
development pathway. Here, overviewed with respect to the recent progress is molecular and genetic approaches
for the elucidation of the mechanisms controlling reproductive development of rice and other grass species.