JXB Advance Access originally published online on May 23, 2005
Journal of Experimental Botany 2005 56(417):1965-1974; doi:10.1093/jxb/eri194
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Published by Oxford University Press [2005] on behalf of the Society for Experimental Biology.
RESEARCH PAPER |
The rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis Muell. Arg.) homologue of the LEAFY/FLORICAULA gene is preferentially expressed in both male and female floral meristems*

Universidade de São Paulo, Centro de Energia Nuclear na Agricultura, Laboratório de Biotecnologia Vegetal, Av. Centenário, 303 CEP 13400-970 Piracicaba, SP, Brazil
Present address and to whom correspondence should be sent: Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Biologia, Departamento de Fisiologia Vegetal, Cidade Universitária "Zeferino Vaz", 13084-971 Campinas, SP, Brazil. E-mail: mcdornel{at}cena.usp.br
The rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis Muell. Arg.) is an important source of natural rubber in tropical regions and, as with many woody species, shows a long juvenile phase. To understand the genetic and molecular mechanisms underlying the reproductive process in rubber trees, H. brasiliensis RRIM600 flower and inflorescence development have been characterized, the rubber tree FLORICAULA/LEAFY (FLO/LFY) orthologue, HbLFY, cloned, and its expression patterns were analysed during vegetative and reproductive development. The rubber tree, similar to other Euphorbiaceae species, produces lateral inflorescences containing male, female, and bisexual flowers. HbLFY is expressed in lateral meristems that give rise to inflorescences and in all flower meristems, consistent with a role in reproductive development. Complementation studies using Arabidopsis lfy mutants indicated that the biological function of LFY might be conserved among Brassicaceae and Euphorbiaceae species.
Key words: Development, flowering, gene expression, LEAFY, plant reproduction, rubber tree
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