Abstract
During reproductive phase in rice, the shoot apical meristem generates primary branches, which generate secondary branches and spikelets. A spikelet has a pair of glumes, 1 lemma, 1 palea, 2 lodicules, 6 stamens and 1 pistil from outside to inside. Meristem activity should be maintained properly to generate normal branches and spikelets. lonely guy (log) mutants show abnormal branching pattern and the reduction of floral organ number. Floral meristems in log show flat structure compared with wild type rice and cease the differentiation of floral organs prematurely. This indicates that LOG functions as a regulator of meristem activity during reproductive phase. We found that LOG encodes a homologue of lysine-decarboxylase (LDC), which catalyzes the synthesis of cadaverine, a kind of polyamine. There are only a few reports describing the involvement of polyamine in plant morphogenesis. Our finding indicates that cadaverine may play an important role in plant morphogenesis.
