Surprisingly little is known about the genes controlling fruit development and seed dispersal in Arabidopsis thaliana. Unlike the Brassicaceae family, the Rubiaceae family exhibits an extraordinary wealth of variation in fruit development ranging from two-seeded to multi-seeded dehiscent capsules over two-seeded to multi-seeded drupaceous berries. Using comparative genomics techniques, we intend to use this natural variation to identify some of the genes involved in fruit ontogeny. This project is based on a detailed phylogenetic analysis conducted by Timothy Motley and Piero Delprete at the New York Botanical Garden.

Back