Mitochondrial tuning fork in nuclear homeotic functions

Homeotic-like flower morphologies in plants with cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) are maternally inherited and associated with rearrangements in mitochondrial DNA. Recent studies allow an interpretation of dramatic CMS morphologies in the light of the floral ABC model. They uncover new nuclear targets for interactions with mitochondrial genes. GLOBOSA-, DEFICIENS- and APETALA3-like genes were transcriptionally down-regulated in carpelloid CMS flowers of tobacco, carrot and wheat. These results allow cooperation between nuclear and cytoplasmic genetic compartments to be considered as a developmental function and an evolutionary mechanism of speciation.