Comparison of infloresence transcriptome of bp er vs. bp er fil

BP and ER encode proteins that act synergistically to regulate Arabidopsis inflorescence architecture. To search for genes/proteins that influence the BP/ER signaling pathways, we conducted mutagenesis of the bp er double mutant and found that a mutation in FILAMENTOUS FLOWER (FIL) suppresses many of the morphological/developmental defects in bp er. Given that FIL encodes a Zn-finger containing transcription factor, microarray analysis was conducted on bp er vs. the bp er fil line to identify genes that are misregulated and which might implicate specific genes/proteins/pathways that are involved in regulating inflorescence development. Plants of the bp er parent line and the bp er fil suppressor line were grown in Conviron growth chambers. Inflorescences that contained no more than 2 stage 13 flowers were harvested and triplicate samples were ultimately compared.