Abstract
Flowers, which contain the reproductive organs in plants, originate from lateral meristems that are set aside at the flanks of a shoot. These meristems may acquire several different identities before eventually attaining a floral fate, leaving behind branches that shape characteristic inflorescence architectures. MicroRNAs from the 156 and 172 families regulate coordinated branching as well as the timely consumption of floral meristems and also participate in determining the identity of floral organ fates. This chapter summarizes their roles during reproductive development through negative regulation of their target proteins.
