Indian Journal of Plant Genetic Resources

The transition from vegetative to reproductive phase is of great fundamental and applied interest but is still poorly understood. Recently genetic-molecular approaches have been used to dissect this process in Arabidopsis. As the genes controlling floral induction in Arabidopsis become better defined, there is a need to address howthey correspond to genes that regulate flowering in other agronomically important species. A focused effort on comparative mapping will be required to establish the potential correspondence of different genes in different species. Isolation of putative orthologs in different species and mutant's expression patterns reveal evolutionary conserved elements in flower development pathway. Here, overviewed with respect to the recent progress is molecular and genetic approaches for the elucidation of the mechanisms controlling reproductive development of rice and other grass species.