The discipline plant evolutionary developmental biology has emerged over the last 10 years. It is a major clade of evolutionary developmental biology or evo-devo. Evo-devo has been established step by step, with integration of evolutionary biology and embryology, genetics and developmental biology. The discipline has its origin in comparative embryology founded by von Baer in the early nineteenth century. Following a quiescent period of almost one century, evo-devo erupted out of the discovery of the homeobox genes in the early 1980s and the proposal of the floral ABC model in the early 1990s, in addition to the flourishing research on developmental genes. Evo-devo has become one of the hot topics in life sciences in the twenty-first century. In this article, we review the history of evo-devo, and then focus on the progress of plant evolutionary developmental biology in the last 10 years. We mainly introduce studies on the MADS-box genes that play a key role in revealing plant development in the major clades of plants. Moreover, we discuss the implications of such important evolutionary issues as perianth origin, flower symmetry, and leaf evolution.

MADS-box genes encode a family of transcriptional factors that play a key role in controlling flower development in angiosperms. In this review, we use Arabidopsis thaliana and Oryza sativa as examples, and summarize the study results of floral homeotic MADS-box genes in two major groups of angiosperms — core eudicots and monocots — over the past decade. Our aim was to review the functional conservation and diversity of floral homeotic MADS-box genes in angiosperms and discuss whether the ABCDE model has been conserved in monocotyledons.

A major task of evolutionary developmental biology is to explore the molecular basis of morphological diversity. The research in this area involves three elements: morphology, genes relevant to morphological development, and taxa encompassing certain morphology. Flowers/inflorescences are the primary research subject in evolutionary developmental biology, and their morphological evolution can be studied by integrating analyses of phylogeny reconstruction and developmental dissection. The evolution of genes relevant to development is represented by genetic or epigenetic mutations in allelic genes, the birth-and-death evolution of gene families, and unique genes possessed by different genomes. Approaches beginning with morphology or sequencing gene evolution in flower evolution have been greatly used in the study of Poaceae. This review attempts to outline the plant evolutionary developmental biology of Poaceae in terms of disciplinary issues, strategic approaches and specific cases.

As a sexual reproductive organ, ovules have received much attention by botanists. Since the nineteenth century, the morphology, structure, ontogenesis, origin and molecular biology of angiosperm ovules have been studied in detail. The development of research has resolved in part many important problems, such as the origin and molecular mechanism of ovule ontogenesis.But these problems still require further study. The present paper reviews previous research on ovules, and from a survey of the literature, suggests areas for future research on ovules.

Gene duplication and diversification can provide the raw material for discovering morphological changes in organisms.The MADS-box genes encoding a family of transcription factors have undergone extensive gene duplication events and subsequent functional divergence during evolution. In flowering plants, MADS-box genes control diverse developmental processes in organs ranging from roots to flowers and fruit development. Studies on the evolutionary history of the MADS-box gene family have highlighted the dynamic fates of the duplicate genes and can provide evidence to better understand the mechanisms behind the evolution of plant morphology. This paper reviews the progress of gene duplication and subsequent functional diversification in the MADS-box gene family.

Homology is one of the fundamental concepts in biology. Recent advances in molecular biology, bioinformatics,developmental biology and evodevotics have led to the wide use of the concept in comparing morphological characters, analyzing molecular sequences, and exploring the molecular basis of the evolution of morphological features. However, because researchers have divergent opinions about the definition of homology, in practice this term is usually used incorrectly, and, thus some false conclusions are drawn. Here, we show how to infer homology and reveal some factors that affect homology. We also point out that the implications of homology should be understood correctly and that homology should be inferred by combining many kinds of evidence to reveal the evolution of genotypes and phenotypes and the relationship between them.

The floral morphogenesis of Coptis was observed under scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The initiation of all floral organs of the genus is spiral, the petal primordia are slightly retarded, the developmental sequence of the stamens is centripetal,the carpel primordia are conduplicate (i.e., horse-shoe shaped), the ovaries are half closed and the ovary stalk is formed in the developmental process. In comparing the floral morphogenesis with that of other genera with T-type chromosomes in the family, we considered that Coptis contains some primitive characters. The results are consistent with molecular systematic studies showing Coptis as one of the basal groups of Ranunculaceae.

Phylogenetic relationships in Clematis sect. Campanella and related taxa were investigated with morphological data.The data matrix comprised 39 ingroup taxa, of which 2 were members of sect. Bebaeanthera. The monotypic sect. Archiclematis (Clematis alternata) was used as an outgroup. About 2 000 specimens from 10 herbaria were investigated. Vegetative as well as floral characters were used in the research. A cladistic analysis of the morphological matrix, containing 35 characters, resulted in 182 most parsimonious trees (tree length=182, CI=0.385, RI=0.685). The analysis showed that sect. Campanella is not monophyletic,because sect. Bebaeanthera is nested within sect. Campanella and closely related with Clematis otophora and its relatives. ser.Henryianae and subsect. Henryianae, established by Tamura and Johnson, are not supported by this research. Clematis ranunculoides and its allies, with 2 or 4 longitudinal wings along outer sepals, are most closely related to red-flowered species in the section (i.e., Clematis lasiandra and Clematis dasyandra. ser. Pogonandrae are not supported, because they nested with the C. otophora group). They share several synapomorphies, such as thicker sepals, flat filaments, hairy anthers, and protruding connectives. Two African species, Clematis longicauda and Clematis grandiflora, with many specialized traits, are considered as advanced groups in the section.

We aimed to determine the features of ultraviolet and infrared spectra of the pigment brown in natural cotton fiber,analyze the effects of pH values and concentrations, diagnose reagents in the ultraviolet spectra, and identify the chemical properties of the pigment. We first purified the brown pigment for use in all experiments. The ultraviolet spectra varied with pH values and concentrations and was influenced by diagnosed reagents. However, the effects of diagnosed reagents were not the same as those of flavones. The infrared spectra showed the wave numbers 3 554, 3 477, 3 414, 3 289, 1 638, 1 618, 1 386, 1 073,617, and 478 cm-1. The chemical features and purification methods of the brown pigment were compared with those of the pigment in the seed coat of white conventional cotton, studied by Halloin in 1982, revealing similarities between the two pigments. Thus, the brown pigment in natural cotton fiber is a quinone compound from tannin oxidation at the end of fiber development.

Fatty acid desaturases catalyze the insertion of a double bond at the delta position of fatty acids. At least 5 fatty acid desaturases exist in plants: FAD2, FAD3, FAD6, FAD7 and FAD8. They are categorized into two classes according to the doublebond position introduced (i.e., w-3 including FAD3, FAD7 and FAD8, and w-6 including FAD2 and FAD6). Most plant cells contain more than one copy of each gene — FAD2, FAD3, FAD6, FAD7, FAD8 — for fatty acid desaturase. The copy number of a desaturase gene varies among plant species. Even for the same gene in the same plant, different copies may vary in sequence, expression regulation and function. We provide an overview of the research advances into fatty acid desaturases in terms of their classification,copy number, gene structure, gene function, gene regulation and applications in plants.

Ca2+ acting as a second messenger plays a crucial role in stress signal transduction pathways. In plants, intracellular calcium levels altered in response to multiple abiotic stresses result in calcium signatures. The specific signatures of these calcium transients are achieved via the function of calcium-binding proteins. So far, three families of calcium-binding proteins have been identified in plants, including calcium dependent protein kinases (CDPKs), calmodulin (CaM) and calcineurin B-like proteins (CBLs).The proteins likely recognize specific calcium signatures and relay these signals into downstream responses to accommodate external stimuli. In this review, we summarize the molecular mechanisms of calcium signal transduction under abiotic stresses.