The “ABC’s” of Floral Madness Architecture of a Prototypical Problem Space John Greenler and Doug Green

Problem Space Architecture: Concepts investigated Questions addressed Resources provided data sets tools references and links

Concept Genetic control of floral development Questions Do specific genes control specific parts of the flower? How many genes may be involved in the evolution of monoecy and dioecy? Resources Flower Designer simulation Photo gallery of floral mutants In situ hybridization TEM data RNA blot data of organ specific expression Background references

Concept Origin of gene families Questions Patterns of similarity among MADS genes in Arabidopsis? Are MADS genes found in other flowering plants? Conserved regions of MADS genes? Location of MADS genes on chromosomes? Resources Thoughtfully constructed sequence library of MADS genes Biology Workbench NCBI tools Background references

Concept Origin of gene function Questions Are MADS genes found in non-flowering plants? Are conserved regions conserved in these species? What is the function of MADS genes in these species? Resources Thoughtfully constructed sequence library of MADS genes Biology Workbench NCBI tools Background references

Concept Genetic control of development Evolution and diversification of developmental programs Questions Are MADS genes found in fungi, animals, other eukaryotes? What is the function of MADS genes in these species? How old are MADS genes? Resources Thoughtfully constructed sequence library of MADS genes Biology Workbench NCBI tools Background references

Concept MADS Proteins structure and function Questions What are the structures of MADS proteins? How do they bind to DNA? Resources Heterodimer formation data Biology Workbench Background references