Editing Inflorescence (section)

===Development===
====Genetic basis====
Genes that shape inflorescence development have been studied at great length in ''[[Arabidopsis]]''. ''LEAFY'' (LFY) is a gene that promotes [[Meristem|floral meristem]] identity, regulating inflorescence development in ''Arabidopsis.''<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last1=Shannon|first1=S.|last2=Meeks-Wagner|first2=D. R.|date=1993-06-01|title=Genetic Interactions That Regulate Inflorescence Development in Arabidopsis.|journal=The Plant Cell|language=en|volume=5|issue=6|pages=639–655|doi=10.1105/tpc.5.6.639|issn=1040-4651|pmid=12271079|pmc=160302}}</ref> Any alterations in timing of LFY expression can cause formation of different inflorescences in the plant.<ref name=":5">{{Cite journal|last1=Schultz|first1=E. A.|last2=Haughn|first2=G. W.|date=1991-08-01|title=LEAFY, a Homeotic Gene That Regulates Inflorescence Development in Arabidopsis.|journal=The Plant Cell|language=en|volume=3|issue=8|pages=771–781|doi=10.1105/tpc.3.8.771|issn=1040-4651|pmid=12324613|pmc=160044}}</ref> Genes similar in function to LFY include ''APETALA1'' (AP1). Mutations in LFY, AP1, and similar promoting genes can cause conversion of flowers into shoots.<ref name=":1" /> In contrast to LEAFY, genes like ''terminal flower'' (TFL) support the activity of an inhibitor that prevents flowers from growing on the inflorescence apex (flower primordium initiation), maintaining inflorescence meristem identity.<ref name=":6">{{Cite journal|last1=Alvarez|first1=John|last2=Guli|first2=Catherine L.|last3=Yu|first3=Xiang-Hua|last4=Smyth|first4=David R.|date=1992-01-01|title=terminal flower: a gene affecting inflorescence development in Arabidopsis thaliana|journal=The Plant Journal|language=en|volume=2|issue=1|pages=103–116|doi=10.1111/j.1365-313X.1992.00103.x|issn=1365-313X|doi-access=free}}</ref> Both types of genes help shape flower development in accordance with the [[ABC model of flower development]]. Studies have been recently conducted or are ongoing for homologs of these genes in other flower species.

==== Environmental influences ====
Inflorescence-feeding insect herbivores shape inflorescences by reducing lifetime fitness (how much flowering occurs), seed production by the inflorescences, and plant density, among other traits.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last1=Louda|first1=Svata M.|last2=Potvin|first2=Martha A.|date=1995-01-01|title=Effect of Inflorescence-Feeding Insects on the Demography and Lifetime of a Native Plant|journal=Ecology|language=en|volume=76|issue=1|pages=229–245|doi=10.2307/1940645|issn=1939-9170|jstor=1940645|bibcode=1995Ecol...76..229L }}</ref> In the absence of these herbivores, inflorescences usually produce more flower heads and seeds.<ref name=":2" /> Temperature can also variably shape inflorescence development. High temperatures can impair the proper development of flower buds or delay bud development in certain species, while in others an increase in temperature can hasten inflorescence development.<ref name=":7">{{Cite journal|last=Moss|first=G|date=27 November 2015|title=Influence of Temperature and Photoperiod on Flower Induction and Inflorescence Development in Sweet Orange (Citrus Sinensis L. Osbeck)|journal=Journal of Horticultural Sciences|volume=44|issue=4|pages=311–320|doi=10.1080/00221589.1969.11514314}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Bjorkman|first1=T.|last2=Pearson|first2=K. J.|date=1998-01-01|title=High temperature arrest of inflorescence development in broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica L.)|journal=Journal of Experimental Botany|language=en|volume=49|issue=318|pages=101–106|doi=10.1093/jxb/49.318.101|issn=0022-0957|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=BREWSTER|first=J. L.|date=1983-04-01|title=Effects of Photoperiod, Nitrogen Nutrition and Temperature on Inflorescence Initiation and Development in Onion (Allium cepa L.)|journal=Annals of Botany|language=en|volume=51|issue=4|pages=429–440|doi=10.1093/oxfordjournals.aob.a086487|issn=0305-7364}}</ref>