ABSTRACT
One of the widely used models in flower development genetics is the annual plant Arabidopsis thaliana. The Arabidopsis flower, as in many other Cruciferae is characterized by actinomorphic structure and contains four sepals, four petals, six stamens and one pistil, formed by two joint carpels. The genetic control of flower development was studied through large-scale works on breeding and detailed investigation of defective mutants in various stages of regeneration. Similar results were accumulated for many other species of dicotyledons and monocotyledons, suggesting the high evolutionary conservatism of the mechanisms of genetic control of flower development. One of the most important factors established by investigations into genetic control of flower development is that many of the genes belong to the conservative group of transcriptional factors, presented not only in plant genomes, but also in other groups of living organisms.
