Exciting advances in our understanding of plant reproductive biology are being spurred both by new research on established model systems and by the emergence of new models. Moreover, comparative analyses are placing knowledge derived from each of these systems into an evolutionary framework and thus providing insights into the processes responsible for the diversity of forms we see today. The number of species with large EST sets for floral transcriptomes is growing rapidly (Figure 1; http://pgn.cornell.edu/) and expression profiling of tagged genes is under way for many of these species. While there are still few tractable systems for experimental investigations of gene function, the development and refinement of virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS; reviewed in Benedito et al., [2004]; Lu et al., 2004; Robertson, [2004]) and targeting-induced local lesions genomes (TILLING; reviewed in Henikoff et al., [2004]; Stemple, [2004]) promise to expand the application of reverse genetics to non-model species. Experimental analysis in a broader range of plant lineages (Figure 1), including the basal-most eudicot lineages (Ranunculales), non-grass monocots, magnoliids and the basal-most angiosperm lineages (Amborellaceae and Nymphaeaceae; see Angiosperm Phylogeny Group, 2003), will help us understand how gene function has evolved since the most recent common ancestor of Arabidopsis and grain models (rice, maize, wheat and others) and all angiosperms.
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