floral-development
Floral development is the biological process by which plants transition their growing tissues from vegetative growth to produce flowers and reproductive structures. This is fundamental to plant science because flowers are essential for sexual reproduction, seed and fruit formation, and directly impact plant survival and agricultural productivity. Understanding the genetic and molecular mechanisms controlling floral development reveals evolutionary insights and enables improvements in crop breeding, yield, and quality.
PubMed · 2026-02-17
Ancient genome triplication in the Asteraceae family (daisies, sunflowers, asters) created three copies of the ancestral genome that evolved into modern Asteraceae species. Researchers identified 157 genes that retained all three copies and are involved in developing the family's distinctive flower structures, suggesting that this ancient duplication was key to their evolutionary success and diversity.
A paleohexaploidization event occurred ~50 million years ago, generating 48 genomic blocks (16 groups × 3 copies) from the ancestral Asteraceae genome
157 genes retained three copies across most Asteraceae species, with transcription factors and auxin-related genes significantly overrepresented in these triplets
Spatiotemporally differentiated expression of the 157 paleohexaploid paralogs is associated with development of floral capitula, a key morphological innovation of the family
