Abstract Polycomb group (PcG) and Trithorax group (TrxG) genes encode important
regulators of development and differentiation in metazoans. These two groups of genes …

The Drosophila Groucho (Gro) protein is the prototype for a large family of corepressors,
examples of which are found in most metazoans. This family includes the human transducin …

A fundamental problem in biology is to understand how fertilization initiates reproductive
development. Higher plant reproduction is unique because two fertilization events are …

Abstract Background Membrane proteins (MPs) play diverse and important functions in
living organisms. They constitute 20% to 30% of the known bacterial, archaean and …

Abstract The ESC-E (Z) complex of Drosophila melanogaster Polycomb group (PcG)
repressors is a histone H3 methyltransferase (HMTase). This complex silences fly Hox …

In flowering plants, two cells are fertilized in the haploid female gametophyte. Egg and
sperm nuclei fuse to form the embryo. A second sperm nucleus fuses with the central cell …

Two maize genes with predicted translational similarity to the Arabidopsis FIE (Fertilization-
Independent Endosperm) protein, a repressor of endosperm development in the absence of …

The WD-repeat domain is a highly conserved recognition module in eukaryotes involved in
diverse cellular processes. It is still not well understood how the bottom of a WD-repeat …

The extra sex combs (ESC) and Enhancer of zeste [E (Z)] proteins, members of the
Polycomb group (PcG) of transcriptional repressors, interact directly and are coassociated in …

Genes of the FERTILISATION INDEPENDENT SEED (FIS) class regulate cell proliferation
during reproductive development in Arabidopsis [1–5]. The FIS genes FERTILISATION …