Genetic analysis of pattern formation in the Arabidopsis embryo

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Abstract
Virtually nothing is known about the mechanisms that generate the basic body pattern in plant embryogenesis. As a first step towards the analysis of pattern formation, we have isolated and begun to characterise putative pattern mutants in the flowering plant, Arabidopsis thaliana. A large-scale screen for morphologically abnormal seedling mutants yielded about 250 lines for further study, and genetic evidence suggests saturation of the genome for this kind of mutation. The phenotypes of putative pattern mutants fall into distinct categories, classes and groups, which may reflect specific aspects of embryonic pattern formation. Mutant seedling phenotypes result from abnormal development in the early embryo. The implications of our findings are discussed with regard to the prospects for a mechanistic understanding of pattern formation in the plant embryo.