Late-flowering genes interact with early-flowering genes to regulate flowering time in Arabidopsis thaliana

Plant Cell Physiol. 1999 Jul;40(7):702-8. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.pcp.a029596.

Abstract

To investigate the genetic mechanisms regulating the transition from the vegetative to reproductive growth in Arabidopsis, double mutants between three different early-flowering mutants, early flowering 1-1, 2-1, 3-1, (elf 1-1, 2-1, 3-1) and five different late-flowering mutants, gi-1, ft-1, fwa-1, ld-1, and fca-9, were constructed and phenotypes analyzed. Double mutants in all combinations displayed the late-flowering phenotypes which resembled their respective late-flowering parents in both flowering time and the number of vegetative leaves produced. The results indicate that five late-flowering mutants are epistatic to all three early-flowering mutants tested here. This epistatic relationship suggests that ELF1, ELF2, and ELF3 genes function upstream of these five late-flowering genes no matter if they are functioning in autonomous or photoperiod pathways. These three early-flowering genes may negatively modify the activity of most late-flowering genes to influence the time of the vegetative-to-reproductive transition in Arabidopsis.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Arabidopsis / genetics*
  • Arabidopsis / growth & development*
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Plant
  • Genes, Plant*
  • Mutation
  • Phenotype
  • Plant Leaves / growth & development
  • Time Factors