Cristina Ferrándiz

• Dr
• Principal Investigator at Spanish National Research Council

Monocarpic plants have a single reproductive cycle in their lives, where life span is determined by the coordinated arrest of all meristems, or global proliferative arrest (GPA). The molecular bases for GPA and the signaling mechanisms involved are poorly understood, other than systemic cues from developing seeds of unknown nature. Here we uncover...

Angiosperms are the most diverse and numerous group of plants and it is generally accepted that this evolutionary success owes in part to the diversity found in fruits, key for protecting the developing seeds and ensuring seed dispersal. Although studies on the molecular basis of morphological innovations are few, they all illustrate the central ro...

Carpels are a distinctive feature of angiosperms, the ovule-bearing female reproductive organs that endow them with multiple selective advantages likely linked to the evolutionary success of flowering plants. Gene regulatory networks directing the development of carpel specialized tissues and patterning have been proposed based on genetic and molec...

Fruits are seed dispersal units, and for that they have evolved different strategies to facilitate separation and dispersal of the progeny from the mother plant. A great proportion of fruits from different clades are dry and dehiscent, opening upon maturity to disperse the seeds. In the last two decades, intense research mainly in Arabidopsis has u...

Unravelling the basis of variation in inflorescence architecture is important to understanding how the huge diversity in plant form has been generated. Inflorescences are divided between simple, as in Arabidopsis, with flowers directly formed at the main primary inflorescence axis, and compound, as in legumes, where they are formed at secondary or...

Different convergent evolutionary strategies adopted by angiosperm fruits lead to diverse functional seed dispersal units. Dry dehiscent fruits are a common type of fruit, characterized by their lack of fleshy pericarp and the release of seeds at maturity through openings (dehiscence zones, DZs) in their structure. In previous decades, a set of cor...

Flowering plants adjust their reproductive period to maximize the success of the offspring. Monocarpic plants, those with a single reproductive cycle that precedes plant senescence and death, tightly regulate both flowering initiation and flowering cessation. The end of the flowering period involves the arrest of the inflorescence meristem activity...

Cellular behavior, cell differentiation and ontogenetic development in eukaryotes result from complex interactions between epigenetic and classic molecular genetic mechanisms, with many of these interactions still to be elucidated. Histone deacetylase enzymes (HDACs) promote the interaction of histones with DNA by compacting the nucleosome, thus ca...

Flowers, and hence, fruits and seeds, are produced by the activity of the inflorescence meristem after the floral transition. In plants with indeterminate inflorescences the final number of flowers produced by the inflorescence meristem is determined by the length of the flowering period, which ends with inflorescence arrest. Inflorescence arrest d...

Monocarpic plants have a single reproductive phase in their life. Therefore, flower and fruit production are restricted to the length of this period. This reproductive strategy involves the regulation of flowering cessation by a coordinated arrest of the growth of the inflorescence meristems, optimizing resource allocation to ensure seed filling. F...

Cytokinins play a relevant role in flower and fruit development and plant yield. Strawberry fruits have a high commercial value, although what is known as the “fruit” is not a “true” botanical fruit because it develops from a non-reproductive organ (receptacle) on which the true botanical fruits (achenes) are found. Given cytokinins’ roles in botan...

The DEVIL/ROTUNDIFOLIA-LIKE (DVL/RTFL) family of plant peptides is present in all land plants, but their biological role and mode of action remains largely unknown, in part due to the lack of reported phenotypes associated to DVL/RTFL loss of function. In this work we have generated high order mutants and characterized their phenotypes in reproduct...

Carpels are the female reproductive organs of the flower, organized in a gynoecium, which is likely the most complex organ of the plant. The gynoecium provides protection for the ovules, helps to discriminate between male gametophytes, and facilitates successful pollination. After fertilization, it develops into a fruit, a specialized organ for see...

All flowering plants adjust their reproductive period for successful reproduction. Flowering initiation is controlled by a myriad of intensively studied factors, so it can occur in the most favorable conditions. But the end of flowering is also a controlled process, required to optimize the size of the offspring and to maximize resource allocation....

Flowers are produced by the activity of the inflorescence meristem after the floral transition. In plants with indeterminate inflorescences, as Arabidopsis, the final number of flowers produced by the inflorescence meristem will depend on two main factors, the rate of flower production by the meristem and the duration of the phase of inflorescence...

SEPALLATA transcription factors (SEP TFs) have been extensively studied in angiosperms as pivotal components of virtually all the MADS-box tetrameric complex master regulators of floral organ identities. However, there are published reports that suggest that some SEP members also regulate earlier reproductive events, such as inflorescence meristem...

Autofertility describes the ability of faba bean flowers to self-fertilize thereby ensuring the productivity of this crop in the absence of pollinators or mechanical disturbance. In the legume crop faba bean ( Vicia faba L.), lack of autofertility in a context of insufficient pollination can lead to a severe decrease in grain yield. Here we perform...

In monocarpic plants, all reproductive meristem activity arrests and flower production ceases after the production of a certain number of fruits. This proliferative arrest (PA) is an evolutionary adaptation that ensures nutrient availability for seed production. Moreover, PA is a process of agronomic interest because it affects the duration of the...

The spatiotemporal control of meristem identity is critical for determining inflorescence architecture, and thus yield, of cereal plants. However, the precise mechanisms underlying inflorescence and spikelet meristem determinacy in cereals are still largely unclear. We have generated loss‐of‐function and overexpression mutants of the paralogous OsM...

Premise: The Rubiaceae are ideal for studying the diversity of fruits that develop from flowers with inferior ovary. We aimed to identify morpho-anatomical changes during fruit development that distinguish those derived from the carpel versus the extra-carpellary tissues. In addition, we present the fruit genetic core regulatory network in selecte...

The stigma is an angiosperm-specific tissue that is essential for pollination. In the last two decades, several transcription factors with key roles in stigma development in Arabidopsis thaliana have been identified. However, genetic analyses have thus far been unable to unravel the precise regulatory interactions among these transcription factors...

The end of the reproductive phase in monocarpic plants is determined by a coordinated arrest of all active meristems, a process known as "Global Proliferative Arrest (GPA)". GPA is linked to the correlative control exerted by developing seeds and possibly, the establishment of strong source-sink relationships. It has been proposed that the meristem...

Controlled spatiotemporal cell division and expansion are responsible for floral bilateral symmetry. Genetic studies have pointed to class II TCP genes as major regulators of cell division and floral patterning in model core eudicots. Here we study their evolution in perianth‐bearing Piperales and their expression in Aristolochia, a rare occurrence...

Background: In Aristolochia (Aristolochiaceae) flowers, the congenital fusion of the anthers and the commissural, stigmatic lobes forms a gynostemium. Although the molecular bases associated to the apical-basal gynoecium patterning have been described in eudicots, comparative expression studies of the style and stigma regulatory genes have never b...

After a vegetative phase, plants initiate the floral transition in response to both environmental and endogenous cues to optimize reproductive success. During this process, the vegetative shoot apical meristem (SAM), which was producing leaves and branches, becomes an inflorescence SAM and starts producing flowers. Inflorescences can be classified...

Fruit morphological diversity reflects the versatility of these angiosperm-specific structures, which facilitate plant progeny dispersal from their sessile parents. A recent study links regulatory changes in a key genetic network for fruit patterning with the origin of heart-shaped pods in Brassicaceae.

The genetic mechanisms underlying fruit development have been identified in Arabidopsis and have been comparatively studied in tomato as a representative of fleshy fruits. However comparative expression and functional analyses on the bHLH genes downstream the genetic network, ALCATRAZ (ALC) and SPATULA (SPT) which are involved in the formation of t...

The gynoecium, the female reproductive part of the flower, is key for plant sexual reproduction. During its development, inner tissues such as the septum and the transmitting tract tissue, important for pollen germination and guidance, are formed. In Arabidopsis, several transcription factors are known to be involved in the development of these tis...

Cover: Scanning electron microscope image of an Arabidopsis thaliana fruit of the kawak mutant, revealing unfused carpels, internal medial tissues, such as ovules, and an anther-like structure fused to a carpel (left side). The image is false-coloured to indicate different tissue types and internal structures. KAWAK, a direct target of the transcri...

A-, B-, and C-class genes code for MADS-box transcription factors required for floral organ identity in angiosperms. Other members of the family are also crucial to ensure proper carpel and fruit development. Development of genetic and genomic tools for Medicago truncatula has allowed its use as model system to study the genetic control of flower a...

Pea ( Pisum sativum ) is one of relatively few genetically amenable plant species with compound leaves. Pea leaves have a variety of specialized organs: leaflets, tendrils, pulvini and stipules, which enable the identification of mutations that transform or affect distinct parts of the leaf. Characterization of these mutations offers insights into...

The Arabidopsis gynoecium consists of two congenitally fused carpels that, at maturity, form a bilocular chamber protecting the ovules and placentae produced by the meristematic regions of the carpel margins. This meristematic region also gives rise to a style capped with stigmatic papillae at the apical end of the developing gynoecia and a transmi...

SEPALLATA (SEP)-like genes, which encode a subfamily of MADS-box transcription factors, are essential for specifying floral organ and meristem identity in angiosperms. Rice (Oryza sativa) has fiveSEP-like genes with partial redundancy and overlapping expression domains, yet their functions and evolutionary conservation are only partially known. Her...

Development in land plants is the process whereby a single cell becomes a large multicellular organism. Developmental networks specify every organ, tissue, or cell type from egg to juvenile to a reproducing adult. Therefore, it would follow that changes in developmental networks result in changes in form, and understanding these developmental netwo...

MADS-domain transcription factors are well known for their roles in plant development and regulate sets of downstream genes that have been uncovered by high-throughput analyses. A considerable number of these targets are predicted to function in hormone responses or responses to environmental stimuli, suggesting that there is a close link between d...

Fruits and seeds are the major food source on earth. Both derive from the gynoecium and, therefore, it is crucial to understand the mechanisms that guide the development of this organ of angiosperm species. In Arabidopsis, the gynoecium is composed of two congenitally fused carpels, where two domains: medial and lateral, can be distinguished. The m...

Primer sequences used in this study. (PDF)

SPT expression during gynoecium development. (A-F) Expression of SPT::GUS during gynoecium development at stage 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12, respectively. Scale bars: 20 μm (A-C), 40 μm (D-F). (TIF)

Phenotypes of wild-type, single, double, and triple type-B arr mutant plants. Photos of plants of 73 days old of wild-type (Col-0), arr1, arr10, arr12, arr1 arr10, arr10 arr12, arr1 arr12, and arr1 arr10 arr12. Scale bar: 3 cm. (TIF)

Expression of DR5::GFP and auxin efflux PIN transporters in the gynoecium. (A-D) Expression of the transcriptional auxin response reporter DR5::GFP line in transverse sections of wild-type gynoecia at stages 8, 9, 10, and 12. (E-L) Expression of PIN translational fusions with GFP in gynoecia at stage 9 and 12: PIN1::PIN1-GFP (E, I), PIN3::PIN3-GFP...

Transverse sections of stage 6–12 gynoecia of wild-type, single, double, and triple type-B arr mutants. Transverse sections of the ovary region of stage 6–12 gynoecia of wild-type, arr1, arr10, arr12, arr1 arr10, arr10 arr12, arr1 arr12, and arr1 arr10 arr12. The photo of the stage 12 gynoecium of the triple type-B arr mutant is an example of a sec...

qRT-PCR of ARR1, ARR10, and ARR12 in wild-type gynoecia. Expression analysis by qRT-PCR of ARR1, ARR10, and ARR12 in wild-type dissected gynoecia. Error bars represent the SD based on three biological replicates. (TIF)

SPT enables cytokinin response during gynoecium development. (A, B) Phenotypes of wild-type Ler (A) and spt-2 (B) gynoecia treated with BAP for 5 days. The photos were taken 3–4 weeks after the BAP treatment. In (B) an example is shown of a spt-2 gynoecium presenting a minor effect to BAP in the replum outgrowth phenotype (only in 12.5% of the case...

In situ hybridization with sense-probe for ARR1 in the gynoecium. (A) Negative control (sense probe) for the in situ hybridization of the type-B ARR1 in a longitudinal section of a stage 12 gynoecium. Scale bar: 100 μm. (TIF)

PIN3 localization during gynoecium development in different backgrounds and upon cytokinin treatment. (A-L) Localization of PIN3::PIN3-GFP in transverse sections of gynoecia at stage 7, 8, 9, and 12 of wild-type (A-D), spt-2 (E-H), and 35S::SPT (I-L). (M-R) PIN3 expression after 48 hours BAP treatment of stage 8, 9, and 12 gynoecia in wild-type (M-...

TCS signal in cytokinin treated 35S::SPT x TCS::GFP gynoecia. Expression of the cytokinin response reporter TCS::GFP in transverse sections of gynoecia at stage 8 and 9 of 35S::SPT (A, B), and 35S::SPT after 48 hours of BAP treatment (C, D). Scale bars: 10 μm. (TIF)

Protein-protein interaction assays of SPT with ARR proteins. (A) Yeast two-hybrid assay with SPT fused to the GAL4 DNA binding domain in combination with itself (homo-dimerization detection) and with 9 type-B ARR proteins (ARR1, ARR2, ARR10, ARR11, ARR12, ARR14, ARR18, ARR20, and ARR21), and also we performed the assay with 8 type-A ARR proteins (A...

PIN1 and PIN3 localization during gynoecium development. (A-J) The localization of PIN1::PIN1-GFP during gynoecium development at stage 7, 8, 9, 10, and 12 (Longitudinal view: A-E; top view at the apex: F; transverse section in the ovary: G-J). (K-T) The localization of PIN3::PIN3-GFP during gynoecium development at stage 7, 8, 9, 10, and 12 (Longi...

PIN3 is necessary for a cytokinin response and with PIN7 for correct gynoecium development. (A) Scanning electron microscopy image of a pin3-4 mutant gynoecium. (B-D) Five days BAP-treated gynoecia phenotypes (photos were taken 3–4 weeks after BAP treatment) of wild-type Col-0 with the typical overgrowth of tissue from the repla (B), pin3-4 lacking...

Key message Expression analysis of theAG-subfamily members fromG. hirsutumduring flower and fruit development. Abstract Reproductive development in cotton, including the fruit and fiber formation, is a complex process; it involves the coordinated action of gene expression regulators, and it is highly influenced by plant hormones. Several studies h...

Light is a major regulator of plant growth and development by antagonizing gibberellins (GA) and we provide evidence for a role of light perception and GA in seed coat formation and seed tolerance to deterioration. We have identified two activation-tagging mutants of Arabidopsis thaliana, cog1-2D and cdf4-1D, with improved seed tolerance to deterio...

As knowledge of the gene networks regulating inflorescence development in Arabidopsis thaliana improves, the current challenge is to characterize this system in different groups of crop species with different inflorescence architecture. Pea (Pisum sativum) has served as a model for development of the compound raceme, characteristic of many legume s...

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##Assembly-Data-START## Sequencing Technology :: Sanger dideoxy sequencing ##Assembly-Data-END##

##Assembly-Data-START## Sequencing Technology :: Sanger dideoxy sequencing ##Assembly-Data-END##

The NGATHA (NGA) clade of transcription factors forms a small subfamily of four members in Arabidopsis thaliana. NGA genes act redundantly to direct the development of apical tissues in the gynoecium, where they have been shown to be essential for style and stigma specification. In addition, NGA genes have a more general role in controlling lateral...

Background and Aims CRABS CLAW (CRC) is a member of the YABBY family of transcription factors involved in carpel morphogenesis, floral determinacy and nectary specification in arabidopsis. CRC orthologues have been functionally characterized across angiosperms, revealing additional roles in leaf vascular development and carpel identity specificatio...

The invention relates to the use of plant floral genes in modifying plant yield. Transgenic plants with increased yield,number of fruits and seeds,related methods and uses are provided. Specifically, the present invention refers to transgenic plants expressing a miR172-resistant version of AP2 or a RNA molecule directed against a FUL nucleic acid w...

The four NGATHA genes (NGA) form a small subfamily within the large family of B3-domain transcription factors of Arabidopsis thaliana. NGA genes act redundantly to direct the development of the apical tissues of the gynoecium, the style, and the stigma. Previous studies indicate that NGA genes could exert this function at least partially by directi...

Carpel development and evolution are central issues for plant biology. The conservation of genetic functions conferring carpel identity has been widely studied in higher plants. However, although genetic networks directing the development of characteristic features of angiosperm carpels such as stigma and style are increasingly known in A rabidopsi...

Arabidopsis research in the last decade has started to unravel the genetic networks directing gynoecium and fruit patterning in this model species. Only recently, the work from several groups has also started to address the conservation of these networks in a wide number of species with very different fruit morphologies, and we are now beginning to...

The role in flowering time of the MADS-box transcription factor FRUITFULL (FUL) has been proposed in many works. FUL has been connected to several flowering pathways as a target of the photoperiod, ambient temperature, and age pathways and it is has been shown to promote flowering in a partially redundant manner with SUPPRESSOR OF OVEREXPRESSION OF...

Almost three decades of genetic and molecular analyses have resulted in detailed insights into many of the processes that take place during flower development and in the identification of a large number of key regulatory genes that control these processes. Despite this impressive progress, many questions about how flower development is controlled i...

Carpels are the female reproductive organs of the flower, organized in a gynoecium, which is arguably the most complex organ of a plant. The gynoecium provides protection for the ovules, helps to discriminate between male gametophytes, and facilitates successful pollination. After fertilization, it develops into a fruit, a specialized organ for see...

The name, e-mail address and affiliation of members of the TRANSPLANTA Consortium participating in this work are listed in Table S1. SUMMARY Transcription factors (TFs) are key regulators of gene expression in all organisms. In eukaryotes, TFs are often represented by functionally redundant members of large gene families. Overexpression might prove...

Almost three decades of genetic and molecular analyses have resulted in detailed insights into many of the processes that take place during flower development and in the identification of a large number of key regulatory genes that control these processes. Despite this impressive progress, many questions about how flower development is controlled i...

GenBank staff is unable to verify sequence and/or annotation provided by the submitter.

Development in land plants is the process whereby a single cell becomes a large multicellular organism. Developmental networks specify every organ, tis- sue, or cell type from egg to juvenile to a reproducing adult. Therefore, it would follow that changes in developmental networks result in changes in form, and un- derstanding these developmental n...