The MADS domain protein AGL15 (AGAMOUS-Like 15) has been found to preferentially accumulate in angiosperm tissues derived from double fertilization (i.e. the embryo, suspensor, and endosperm) and in apomictic, somatic, and microspore embryos. Localization to the nuclei supports a role in gene regulation during this phase of the life cycle. To test whether AGL15 is involved in the promotion and maintenance of embryo identity, the embryogenic potential of transgenic plants that constitutively express AGL15 was assessed. Expression of AGL15 was found to enhance production of secondary embryos from cultured zygotic embryos, and constitutive expression led to long-term maintenance of development in this mode. Ectopic accumulation of AGL15 also promoted somatic embryo formation after germination from the shoot apical meristem of seedlings in culture. These results indicate that AGL15 is involved in support of development in an embryonic mode.The MADS domain protein AGL15 (AGAMOUSLike 15) preferentially accumulates in a wide variety of tissues that are developing in an embryonic mode, suggesting that it may play an important role during this phase of the higher plant life cycle (Heck et al., 1995;Rounsley et al., 1995;Perry et al., 1996Perry et al., , 1999. MADS domain proteins are a family of regulatory factors that share an approximately 55-to 60-amino acid residue domain (the MADS domain) that mediates dimer formation and sequence-specific binding to DNA (for review, see Riechmann and Meyerowitz, 1997). The plant MADS box gene family is relatively large, numbering 107 in Arabidopsis (Parenicová et al., 2003). Many members of this group have been shown to play key roles in developmental decisions, as demonstrated by loss-of-function mutations resulting in homeotic transformation of organ identity (for review, see Riechmann and Meyerowitz, 1997). However, it is not unusual for members of this family to have redundant functions, making a double or even triple mutant combination necessary before a phenotype is observed (Kempin et al., 1995; Liljegren et al., 2000;Pelaz et al., 2000).In cases where functional redundancy exists, ectopic expression studies can be particularly revealing. For example, the petunia (Petunia hybrida) MADS box gene FBP11 produces ectopic ovules on floral organ surfaces when constitutively expressed (Colombo et al., 1995), substantiating FBP11's proposed role as an ovule identity gene. MADS box genes expressed in inflorescence and floral meristems have been studied to the greatest extent, but members of the MADS box family are preferentially expressed in other tissues (Heck et al., 1995;Rounsley et al., 1995; Alvarez-Buylla et al., 2000; Burgeff et al., 2002).AGL15 is the only MADS box gene reported to date that is preferentially expressed in developing embryos (Heck et al., 1995;Rounsley et al., 1995; Fernandez et al., 2000). Although other MADS box genes are expressed in embryos, they are also expressed at similar or higher levels at other stages of plant development. AGL15 accumulates in th...

CYP2D6 phenotypes of reduced enzyme activity were not associated with worse disease control but were associated with increased hot flushes, contrary to the hypothesis. The results of this study do not support using the presence or absence of hot flushes or the pharmacogenetic testing of CYP2D6 to determine whether to treat postmenopausal breast cancer patients with tamoxifen.