Polarity, Petaloidy and Pollination: The Evolution of Flower Form in a Monocot Model Clade

Understanding how genotypes map to phenotypes and how changes in gene regulatory networks result in developmental shifts are key challenges for the study of developmental evolution. The identity of homeotic genes and interacting components that underlie floral organ specification is now well characterized in model systems; however studies of homeotic genes in non-model species have begun to highlight how unique and lineage-specific modifications may provide the basis for the evolution of novel floral structures.  Comparative developmental genetics of lineage-specific innovations, such as the petaloid stamens and staminodes in the Zingiberales, provides a means of investigating how changes in regulatory networks have played a role in enabling floral organ diversification. Here we present our work on characterizing the role of gene networks in the development of the Zingiberales flower, highlighting the evolution of specific classes of genes during floral organ development, and using a comparative approach to investigate the how major changes in floral morphology can result from changes in function and expression of entire gene regulatory networks.