Vivian Irish

"entails the regulation of , cell expansion, and , and patterning of the organ as a whole. s are ideally suited to dissecting these processes. Petals are dispensable for growth and reproduction, enabling varied manipulations to be carried out with ease. In , petals have a simple laminar structure with a small number of cell types, facilitating the analysis of organogenesis. This review summarizes recent studies that have illuminated some of the complex interplay between the s controlling petal specification, growth and differentiation in Arabidopsis. These advances, coupled with the advantages of using petals as a model , provide an excellent platform to investigate the underlying mechanisms driving plant organogenesis."

"Flowers are organized into concentric s of s, s, s and s, with each of these floral organ types having a unique role in ... Sepals enclose and protect the flower bud, while petals can be large and showy so as to attract s (or people!). Stamens produce pollen grains that contain male gametes, while the carpels contain the ovules that when fertilized will produce the seeds. While the size, shape, number and elaboration of each of these organ types can be quite different, the same general organization of four floral organ types arranged in concentric whorls exists across all species. As I shall explain in this Primer, the ‘ABC model’ is a simple and satisfying explanation for how this conserved floral architecture is genetically specified. What is the ABC model? The ABC model was first explicitly articulated in 1991, in a seminal paper by and . Although s affecting floral organ identity had been known for centuries, it was the systematic analyses of these mutations, and of the phenotypes produced by double and triple mutants, that proved to be critical in developing the ABC model."

"As a graduate student, I encountered a book that still inspires me: Classic Papers in Genetics edited by . Sadly, it is now out of print, but it is a wonderful compendium of many groundbreaking papers,starting with Mendel’s ‘Experiments in Plant Hybridization’. It also includes several papers by my scientific hero, , who figured out the principle of as an undergraduate, and whose papers are a model of clarity and careful reasoning. I also really enjoy reading Peters’ prefaces to each paper, which place each work in its scientific and historical context."