As scientists, we are at least as excited about the open questions—the things we do not
know—as the discoveries. Here, we asked 15 experts to describe the most compelling open …

The shift from outcrossing to self-fertilization (selfing) is considered one of the most prevalent
evolutionary transitions in flowering plants. Selfing species tend to share similar …

The Arabidopsis root offers good opportunities to investigate how regulated cellular growth
shapes different tissues and organs, a key question in developmental biology. Along the …

Genome editing technologies are being widely adopted in plant breeding. However, a
looming challenge of engineering desirable genetic variation in diverse genotypes is poor …

Amphicarpy is an unusual trait where two fruit types develop on the same plant: one above
and the other belowground. This trait is not found in conventional model species. Therefore …

Background Model organisms are at the core of life science research. Notable examples
include the mouse as a model for humans, baker's yeast for eukaryotic unicellular life and …

Duplicated genes are thought to follow one of three evolutionary trajectories that resolve
their redundancy: neofunctionalization, subfunctionalization, or pseudogenization …

Plant organs arise through complex interactions between biological and physical factors that
control morphogenesis. While there has been tremendous progress in the understanding of …

The mustard family Brassicaceae, which includes the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana,
exhibits morphological stasis and significant uniformity of floral plan. Nonetheless, there is …

The MADS-box transcription factor APETELA1 (AP1) is crucially important for reproductive
developmental processes. The function of AP1 and the classic LFY-AP1 interaction in woody …