Molecular analysis of heterochronic bract development in Tsu-0 at floral transition
The convergent evolution of leaf-less (or bract-less) inflorescences in several plant groups like Brassicaceæ is an iconic example of evolutionary loss. In some natural accession of Arabidopsis thaliana like Tsu-0, however, bracts can form with the first few flowers, just at floral transition. These "basal bracts" are not associated with floral defects, contrary to previously described bract mutants. In order to better understand the molecular and genetic basics of such transient phenotype in Tsu-0, we mapped the the genetic variations controlling bracts in tsu-0 with bulked F2 (Tsu-0 x Col-0) segregant population and Recombinant Inbred Lines, and crossed data with a transcriptomic analysis of shoot apices over floral transition.