Comparative gene expression in floral whorls of the basal eu-dicot Aquilegia formosa. Aquilegia formosa

Investigation of genome-wide gene expression in sepals, petals, stamens, staminodia and carpels in pre-anthesis Aquilegia flowers. One goal was to identify transcriptional signatures associated with petaloidy by comparing gene expression in petals and petaloid sepals. Other goals were to study the evolutionary origin and ecological function of staminodia by comparing a) expression patterns in stamens, staminodia and carpels, b) identifying transcriptional regulators expressed in staminodia and c) using gene set enrichment analysis to identify biological processes operating in staminodia. Overall design: A 15 chip study using total RNA from the five floral tissues from three replicate natural populations with each sample representing tissue pooled from 60 flowers.