The molecular basis of vernalization: The central role of FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC)

In Arabidopsis, the MADS-box protein encoded by FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC) is a repressor of flowering. Vernalization, which promotes flowering in the late-flowering ecotypes and many late-flowering mutants, decreases the level of FLC transcript and protein in the plant. This vernalization-induced reduction in FLC transcript levels is mitotically stable and occurs in all tissues. FLC activity is restored in each generation, as is the requirement of a low-temperature exposure for the promotion of flowering. The level of FLC determines the extent of the vernalization response in the promotion of flowering, and there is a quantitative relationship between the duration of cold treatment and the extent of down-regulation of FLC activity. We conclude that FLC is the central regulator of the induction of flowering by vernalization. Other vernalization-responsive late-flowering mutants, which are disrupted in genes that encode regulators of FLC, are late-flowering as a consequence of their elevated levels of FLC.

[1]  M. Koornneef,et al.  The phenotype of some late-flowering mutants is enhanced by a locus on chromosome 5 that is not effective in the Landsberg erecta wild-type , 1994 .

[2]  S. Clough,et al.  Floral dip: a simplified method for Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of Arabidopsis thaliana. , 1998, The Plant journal : for cell and molecular biology.

[3]  R. Amasino,et al.  The late-flowering phenotype of FRIGIDA and mutations in LUMINIDEPENDENS is suppressed in the Landsberg erecta strain of Arabidopsis , 1994 .

[4]  J. Langridge.  The Aseptic Culture of Arabidopsis Thaliana (l.) Heynh. , 1957 .

[5]  W. Peacock,et al.  DNA methylation, vernalization, and the initiation of flowering. , 1993, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[6]  R. Macknight,et al.  FCA , a Gene Controlling Flowering Time in Arabidopsis, Encodes a Protein Containing RNA-Binding Domains , 1997, Cell.

[7]  F. G. Gregory,et al.  Studies in Vernalisation of Cereals: I. A Comparative Study of Vernalisation of Winter Rye by Low Temperature and by Short Days , 1937 .

[8]  W. Peacock,et al.  The FLF MADS Box Gene: A Repressor of Flowering in Arabidopsis Regulated by Vernalization and Methylation , 1999, Plant Cell.

[9]  L. Willmitzer,et al.  Improved method for the isolation of RNA from plant tissues. , 1987, Analytical biochemistry.

[10]  C. -. Yang,et al.  FLD interacts with genes that affect different developmental phase transitions to regulate Arabidopsis shoot development. , 1998, The Plant journal : for cell and molecular biology.

[11]  D. Bagnall.  Light quality and vernalization interact in controlling late flowering in Arabidopsis ecotypes and mutants , 1993 .

[12]  Caroline Dean,et al.  The Transition to Flowering , 1998, Plant Cell.

[13]  D. Bagnall.  Control of Flowering inArabidopsis thalianaby Light, Vernalisation and Gibberellins , 1992 .

[14]  C. Dean,et al.  Arabidopsis mutants showing an altered response to vernalization. , 1996, The Plant journal : for cell and molecular biology.

[15]  R. Amasino,et al.  Isolation of LUMINIDEPENDENS: a gene involved in the control of flowering time in Arabidopsis. , 1994, The Plant cell.

[16]  R. Amasino,et al.  FLOWERING LOCUS C Encodes a Novel MADS Domain Protein That Acts as a Repressor of Flowering , 1999, Plant Cell.

[17]  W. Peacock,et al.  DNA methylation and the promotion of flowering by vernalization. , 1998, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.