Mechanism of Flower Growth in Ornamental Plants: From Floral Induction to Development—2nd Edition

A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Horticultural and Floricultural Crops".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 August 2026 | Viewed by 1132

Special Issue Editor

National Key Laboratory for Germplasm Innovation & Utilization of Horticultural Crops, College of Horticulture and Forestry Sciences, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
Interests: ornamental plant breeding; floral development; flowering regulation; biotic and abiotic stresses
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Flowers are unique to angiosperms. A typical flower possesses four types of organs, namely sepals, petals, stamens, and carpels, which are arranged on the receptacle from the outside to the centre, respectively. In different groups of flowering plants, however, floral organs show dramatic variation in number, type, size, shape, colour, scent, taste, and arrangement. However, no matter how diverse the floral organs are, they all experience at least four main developmental processes as follows: initiation, identity determination, morphogenesis, and maturation. And many species have evolved in multiple ways to adapt to the environment and endogenous factors to regulate flowering. It is now known that five main signal pathways, namely photoperiod, vernalisation, age, autonomy, and gibberellin, regulate floral initiation and development. Furthermore, the quality and quantity of flowers are also affected by environmental factors. 

Over recent years, enormous scientific progress has been made to understand the molecular basis of flowering and flower development. However, flowering and flower development still need to be further explored for future flower breeding.

This Special Issue will focus on floral induction to development in ornamental plants. We welcome novel research, reviews, and opinion pieces covering all related topics. 

Dr. Yanhong He
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • floral organ
  • flowering time
  • flower colour
  • flower shape
  • flower scent
  • flower size

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

21 pages, 8335 KB  
Article
A Marigold (Tagetes erecta) MADS-Box Transcription Factor, TeSEP4, Regulates Petal Color by Modulating Chlorophyll and Carotenoid Biosynthesis
by Chunling Zhang, Chujun Huang, Ke Zhu, Luan Ke, Hang Li and Yanhong He
Agronomy 2026, 16(1), 88; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy16010088 - 28 Dec 2025
Viewed by 803
Abstract
Chlorophyll and carotenoid biosynthesis are essential metabolic processes in horticultural plants, critically influencing the coloration and economic value of fruits and petals. However, the regulatory mechanisms that coordinate the accumulation of both chlorophyll and carotenoids are still poorly understood. In this study, we [...] Read more.
Chlorophyll and carotenoid biosynthesis are essential metabolic processes in horticultural plants, critically influencing the coloration and economic value of fruits and petals. However, the regulatory mechanisms that coordinate the accumulation of both chlorophyll and carotenoids are still poorly understood. In this study, we demonstrated that the transcription factor TeSEP4 modulated petal color in marigolds by simultaneously modulating chlorophyll and carotenoid metabolic pathways. Overexpression of TeSEP4 produced dark-yellow petals, which were associated with enhanced carotenoid biosynthesis and suppression of chlorophyll biosynthesis. In contrast, silencing TeSEP4 triggered a shift toward yellow-green petals by reducing carotenoid accumulation while concurrently increasing chlorophyll content. Transcriptome and qRT-PCR analyses further revealed that TeSEP4 overexpression upregulated key carotenogenic genes such as TePSY1 and TePSY3, while downregulating chlorophyll-related genes, including TeCHLH, TeCHL27-1, and TePORA1. Silencing TeSEP4 expression caused the opposite changes in these genes. These findings reveal a transcriptional factor that coordinates chlorophyll and carotenoid biosynthesis, offering a strategy to simultaneously improve carotenoid content and modify petal color in marigolds. Full article
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