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Joined 2026-09-21 Message
FRUITFULL 2026-11-05
FRUITFULL, also called FUL or AGL8, is an Arabidopsis thaliana developmental regulatory gene encoding a MADS-box transcription factor. In the fruit, it helps establish normal valve tissue identity. The gene, its protein product and a mutant plant's phenotype are different levels of description.
The 1998 study of the ful-1 mutant identified an inserted enhancer-trap element disrupting the gene. A reporter marked valve tissue, and mutant valve cells failed to elongate and differentiate normally.[ref]
The FRUITFULL MADS-box gene mediates cell differentiation during Arabidopsis fruit development by Q. Gu and others. Abstract; mutation, reporter localization and valve-cell phenotypes
Comparing local expression and cell anatomy supplies more mechanistic information than noting only that a mature fruit is short.A later genetic analysis clarified that the effect need not mean that FRUITFULL directly drives every elongation step. Its regulatory role includes preventing misplaced INDEHISCENT activity.[ref]
Control of Fruit Patterning in Arabidopsis by INDEHISCENT by Sarah J. Liljegren and others. Abstract; FUL function and ectopic IND activity
In a causal comparison, defective growth machinery and altered tissue identity can both produce a short organ. Perturbing the regulatory pathway and measuring which identity develops helps distinguish those explanations. The combined history connects gene expression, cell differentiation, fruit dehiscence and seed dispersal without treating final organ length as a direct assay of a single molecular function. Q. Gu 2026-11-05
Q. Gu is the first-listed author of the 1998 study identifying the developmental role of FRUITFULL in Arabidopsis thaliana. The paper connected a disrupted MADS-box transcription factor gene with defective cell differentiation in fruit valves. Its indexed byline gives Q. Gu; an expanded given name is not established here.[ref]
The FRUITFULL MADS-box gene mediates cell differentiation during Arabidopsis fruit development by Q. Gu and others. Development125,1509–1517; byline and Abstract
The experiment made the mutation informative in two ways. An enhancer trap insertion disrupted the gene, while its reporter gene marked expression in valve tissues. In the mutant, valve cells failed to elongate and differentiate normally; the mature fruit consequently remained short and its tissues grew without normal coordination.[ref]
The FRUITFULL MADS-box gene mediates cell differentiation during Arabidopsis fruit development by Q. Gu and others. Abstract, ful-1 insertion, GUS localization and valve phenotype
The combination is more revealing than organ length alone: a local expression pattern and a tissue-specific defect connect a regulatory gene to development at the cell level. They support a role in the process without demonstrating that every downstream growth gene is a direct transcriptional target.