Photoperiodic control of the floral transition through a distinct polycomb repressive complex

Abstract

Polycomb group (PcG) complexes such as PRC1 mediate transcriptional repression. Here, we show that the plant-specific EMBRYONIC FLOWER1 (EMF1), LIKE HETEROCHROMATIN PROTEIN1, and a histone H3 lysine-4 demethylase form a distinct PcG complex, termed EMF1c, that plays PRC1-like roles and is crucial for regulation of the florigen gene FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) in Arabidopsis. Long-day photoperiods promote FT expression activation in leaf veins specifically at dusk through the photoperiod pathway to induce Arabidopsis flowering. We found that before dusk and at night, a vascular EMF1c directly represses FT expression to prevent photoperiod-independent flowering, whereas at dusk EMF1 binding to FT chromatin is disrupted by the photoperiod pathway, leading to proper FT activation. Furthermore, a MADS-domain transcription factor and potent floral repressor binds EMF1 to repress FT expression. Our study reveals that the vascular EMF1c integrates inputs from several flowering-regulatory pathways to synchronize flowering time to environmental cues.