''HOTHEAD'' is an ''

Arabidopsis thaliana ''Arabidopsis thaliana'', the thale cress, mouse-ear cress or arabidopsis, is a small flowering plant native to Eurasia and Africa. ''A. thaliana'' is considered a weed; it is found along the shoulders of roads and in disturbed land. A winter a ...

'' gene that encodes a

flavin adenine dinucleotide Flavin may refer to: Placename * Flavin, Aveyron, a commune in southern France Surname * Adrian Flavin (born 1979), a professional rugby player * Christopher Flavin, president of the Worldwatch Institute * Dan Flavin (1933–1996), a minimalis ...

-containing

oxidoreductase In biochemistry, an oxidoreductase is an enzyme that catalyzes the transfer of electrons from one molecule, the reductant, also called the electron donor, to another, the oxidant, also called the electron acceptor. This group of enzymes usually ut ...

. This gene has a role in the creation of the

carpel Gynoecium (; ) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl of a flower; it consists of (one or more) ''pistils'' ...

during the formation of flowers through the fusion of

epidermal The epidermis is the outermost of the three layers that comprise the skin, the inner layers being the dermis and hypodermis. The epidermis layer provides a barrier to infection from environmental pathogens and regulates the amount of water relea ...

cells. Observations of reversion of the ''hothead'' phenotype and genotype led to the suggestion that the plants were able to "remember" the sequences of genes present in their ancestors, possibly through a cache of complementary RNA. This report attracted broad attention, and alternative explanations were suggested. Later research suggested that the supposed reversion phenomenon was due to the plants having a pronounced bias towards

outcrossing Out-crossing or out-breeding is the technique of crossing between different breeds. This is the practice of introducing distantly related genetic material into a breeding line, thereby increasing genetic diversity. Outcrossing can be a useful ...

(because of their floral defects), rather than self-fertilizing at high rates, as is typical for ''A. thaliana''.

References

{{reflist

External links and further reading

* Recommendations of 2005 paper on F1000 (most rated paper in the history of the site): http://f1000.com/prime/1024824 * Post by Ogden (2013) describing a follow-up paper: http://blog.f1000research.com/2013/02/04/meddling-with-mendel/ * News piece by Gawrylewski (2008): http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/26000/title/Mendel-upended-/ * ''HOTHEAD'' locus page: https://www.arabidopsis.org/servlets/TairObject?type=locus&id=30300 Arabidopsis thaliana genes Developmental genes and proteins