"We are now trying to get a better understanding of exactly how the chemical compasses work and determining the molecular nature of the poles that coordinate their orientations," said Professor Enrico Coen of the John Innes Centre.
The study also throws light on how different shapes may evolve. In the computational model, small changes to the genes that influence the growth rules produce a variety of different forms. The shape of the snapdragon flower, with the closely matched upper and lower petal shapes, could have arisen through similar 'genetic tinkering' during evolution. Evolutionary tinkering could also underlie the co-ordinated changes required for the development of many other biological structures, such as the matched upper and lower jaws of vertebrates.
This is a computer model of the growth of a snapdragon flower, produced by the groups of Professor Andrew Bangham of the University of East Anglia and Professor Enrico Coen of the John Innes Centre.
(Photo Credit: John Innes Centre/UEA)
This is a bee on a snapdragon flower.
(Photo Credit: John Innes Centre)
Source: Norwich BioScience Institutes