AP3 — Brassica oleracea var. botrytis

Summary

BoAP3, located on chromosome 4 of cauliflower (Brassica oleracea var. botrytis), encodes a MADS-box transcription factor with DNA-binding and protein dimerization activity. This gene is associated with the specification of floral organ identity, particularly petal and stamen identity, as well as the maintenance of floral meristem identity. It has been linked to numerous floral traits, including flower morphology, petal number, stamen length, and carpel shape, along with agronomically relevant traits such as days to flowering, photoperiod-sensitive flowering time, seed longevity, and plant male sterility. BoAP3 is also associated with responses to external biotic stimuli, silver ion, and heat stress, and to processes including megagametogenesis, mucilage extrusion from seed coat, and pistil development. Studies of related genes in other species link the family to floral organ identity, stamen and petal formation, and flower morphogenesis.