Hormones talking

Abstract

The proper development of fruits is important for the sexual reproduction and propagation of many plant species. The fruit of Arabidopsis derives from the fertilized gynoecium, which initiates at the center of the flower and obtains its final shape, size, and functional tissues through progressive stages of development. Hormones, specially auxins, play important roles in gynoecium and fruit patterning. Cytokinins, which act as counterparts to auxins in other plant tissues, have been studied more in the context of ovule formation and parthenocarpy. We recently studied the role of cytokinins in gynoecium and fruit patterning and found that they have more than one role during gynoecium and fruit patterning. We also compared the cytokinin response localization to the auxin response localization in these organs, and studied the effects of spraying cytokinins in young flowers of an auxin response line. In this addendum, we discuss further the implications of the observed results in the knowledge about the relationship between cytokinins and auxins at the gynoecium.