HOTHEAD (gene)

HOTHEAD is a gene in Arabidopsis thaliana that encodes an flavin adenine dinucleotide-containing oxidoreductase. It is involved in the creation of the carpel during the formation of flowers, through the fusion of epidermal cells. In 2005 mutant plants lacking HOTHEAD were proposed to be able to "remember" the sequences of genes that were present in their ancestors, through some kind of non-Mendelian mechanism of inheritance. Later research showed that this strange phenotype was due to the plants having a pronounced bias towards outcrossing, rather than the usual behavior of Arabidopsis, which is to self-fertilise.