Comparative analysis of rice MADS-box genes expressed during flower development

MADS-box genes involved in flower development have been isolated and studied in a wide variety of plant species. However, most of these studies are related to dicot species like Antirrhinum majus, Arabidopsis thaliana and Petunia hybrida. Although the floral structures of typical monocot and dicot flowers differ substantially, previous studies indicate that MADS-box genes controlling floral organ identity in dicots can also be identified in monocot plants like rice and maize. To extend this study further to obtain a more global picture of monocot and dicot MADS-box gene evolution, we performed a phylogenetic study using MADS-box genes from A. thaliana and Oryza sativa. Furthermore, we investigated whether the identified orthologues of Arabidopsis and rice have a conserved expression profile that could indicate conservation of function.