The molecular basis of vernalization: The central role of FLOWERING LOCUS C ( FLC )
Year: 2000
Type: article
Abstract: 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.
Authors: Candice C. Sheldon, Dean T. Rouse, E. Jean Finnegan, W. James Peacock, Elizabeth S. Dennis
Language: English
Subfield: Plant Science
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W1967192654