The analysis of mutations affecting flower structure has led to the identification of some of the genes that direct flower development. Cloning of these genes has allowed the formulation of molecular models of how floral meristem and organ identity may be specified, and has shown that the distantly related flowering plants Arabidopsis thaliana and Antirrhinum majus use homologous mechanisms in floral pattern formation.

The first step in flower development is the generation of a floral meristem by the inflorescence meristem. We have analyzed how this process is affected by mutant alleles of the Arabidopsis gene LEAFY. We show that LEAFY interacts with another floral control gene, APETALA1, to promote the transition from inflorescence to floral meristem. We have cloned the LEAFY gene, and, consistent with the mutant phenotype, we find that LEAFY RNA is expressed strongly in young flower primordia. LEAFY expression procedes expression of the homeotic genes AGAMOUS and APETALA3, which specify organ identify within the flower. Furthermore, we demonstrate that LEAFY is the Arabidopsis homolog of the FLORICAULA gene, which controls floral meristem identity in the distantly related species Antirrhinum majus.

These results provide new insight into auxin transport dynamics during primordial positioning and suggest a role for auxin transport in influencing primordial cell type.

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