Plants use the circadian clock as a timekeeping mechanism to regulate photoperiodic flowering in response to the seasonal changes. CONSTITUTIVELY PHOTOMORPHOGENIC 1 (COP1), initially identified as a central repressor of seedling photomorphogenesis, was recently shown to be involved in the regulation of light input to the circadian clock, modulating the circadian rhythm and flowering. COP1 encod...

Due to its critical importance in crop yield, the photoperiodic regulation of flowering time is considered an important trait in sorghum breeding programs. In this study, quantitative trait loci for flowering time were detected using an F(2) population derived from a cross between Kikuchi Zairai, a late-flowering cultivar originating from Japan and SC112, an early-flowering cultivar originating...

Studies of natural genetic variation for the vernalization requirement in Arabidopsis have revealed two genes, FRIGIDA and FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC), that are determinants of the vernalization-requiring, winter-annual habit. In this study, we show that FLOWERING LOCUS C EXPRESSOR-LIKE 4 (FLL4) is essential for upregulation of FLC in winter-annual Arabidopsis accessions and establishment of a vern...

Cool ambient temperatures are major cues determining flowering time in spring. The mechanisms promoting or delaying flowering in response to ambient temperature changes are only beginning to be understood. In Arabidopsis thaliana, FLOWERING LOCUS M (FLM) regulates flowering in the ambient temperature range and FLM is transcribed and alternatively spliced in a temperature-dependent manner. We id...

Plants use the circadian clock as a timekeeping mechanism to regulate photoperiodic flowering in response to the seasonal changes. CONSTITUTIVELY PHOTOMORPHOGENIC 1 (COP1), initially identified as a central repressor of seedling photomorphogenesis, was recently shown to be involved in the regulation of light input to the circadian clock, modulating the circadian rhythm and flowering. COP1 encod...

Multiple genetic pathways act in response to developmental cues and environmental signals to promote the floral transition, by regulating several floral pathway integrators. These include FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) and SUPPRESSOR OF OVEREXPRESSION OF CONSTANS 1 (SOC1). We show that the flowering repressor SHORT VEGETATIVE PHASE (SVP) is controlled by the autonomous, thermosensory, and gibberellin p...

Most of the natural variation in wheat vernalization response is determined by allelic differences in the MADS-box transcription factor VERNALIZATION1 (VRN1). Extended exposures to low temperatures during the winter (vernalization) induce VRN1 expression and promote the transition of the apical meristem to the reproductive phase. In contrast to its Arabidopsis homolog (APETALA1), which is mainl...

Rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) is grown in different geographical regions of the world. It is adapted to different environments by modification of flowering time and requirement for cold. A broad variation exists from very early-flowering spring-type to late-flowering winter cultivars which only flower after exposure to an extended cold period. B. napus is an allopolyploid species which resulted ...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS The duration of the plant life cycle is an important attribute that determines fitness and coexistence of weeds in arable fields. It depends on the timing of two key life-history traits: time from seed dispersal to germination and time from germination to flowering. These traits are components of the time to reproduction. Dormancy results in reduced and delayed germination, ...

Winter-annual accessions of Arabidopsis thaliana require either exposure to cold stress or vernalization to initiate flowering via FRIGIDA (FRI). FRI acts as a scaffold protein to recruit several chromatin modifiers that epigenetically modify flowering genes. Here, we report that proteasome-mediated FRI degradation regulates flowering during vernalization in Arabidopsis. Our genetic and biochem...