NEGATIVE REGULATION OF THE ARABIDOPSIS HOMEOTIC GENE AGAMOUS BY THE APETALA2 PRODUCT

We characterized the distribution of AGAMOUS (AG) RNA during early flower development in Arabidopsis. Mutations in this homeotic gene cause the transformation of stamens to petals in floral whorl 3 and of carpels to another ag flower in floral whorl 4. We found that AG RNA is present in the stamen and carpel primordia but is undetectable in sepal and petal primordia throughout early wild-type flower development, consistent with the mutant phenotype. We also analyzed the distribution of AG RNA in apetela2 (ap2) mutant flowers. AP2 is a floral homeotic gene that is necessary for the normal development of sepals and petals in floral whorls 1 and 2. In ap2 mutant flowers, AG RNA is present in the organ primordia of all floral whorls. These observations show that the expression patterns of the Arabidopsis floral homeotic genes are in part established by regulatory interactions between these genes.