Abstract
THE Arabidopsis floral meristem-identity genes APETALA1 (API) and LEAFY (LFY) confer floral identity on developing floral primordia1–4, whereas TERMINAL FLOWER (TFL) is required to repress their expression within shoot and inflorescence meristems1,5. LFY and AP1 are expressed in floral primordia in response to environmental conditions, such as day length, which regulate the onset of flowering, and presumably also in response to the action of genes that influence flowering time. However, the relationship between these flowering-time genes and the floral meristem-identity genes has been difficult to assess because flowering time is determined by several interacting genetic path-ways6,7. Here we describe a method to regulate expression of the flowering-time gene CONSTANS (CO) and demonstrate that CO expression is sufficient to trigger flowering, irrespective of day length. In response to CO expression, transcription of LFY and TFL is initiated rapidly, whereas transcription of AP1 occurs much later. We propose that CO acts within a genetic pathway that is sufficient to activate LFY and TFL transcription, but that rapid activation of AP1 requires an additional pathway.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Weigel, D., Alvarez, J., Smyth, D. R., Yanofsky, M. F. & Meyerowitz, E. M. Cell 69, 843–859 (1992).
Mandel, M. A., Gustafson-Brown, C., Savidge, B. & Yanofsky, M. F. Nature 360, 273–277 (1992).
Weigel, D. & Nilsson, O. Nature 377, 495–500 (1995).
Mandel, M. A. & Yanofsky, M. F. Nature 377, 522–524 (1995).
Gustafson-Brown, C., Savidge, B. & Yanofsky, M. F. Cell 76, 131–143 (1994).
Martinez-Zapater, J. M., Coupland, G., Dean, C. & Koornneef, M. in Arabidopsis (eds Meyerowitz, E. & Somerville, C.) 403–404 (Cold Spring Harbor Press, New York, 1994).
Coupland, G. Trends Genet. 11, 393–397 (1995).
Redei, G. P. Genetics 47, 443–460 (1962).
Koornneef, M., Hanhart, C. J. & van der Veen, J. H. Mol. Gen. Genet. 229, 57–66 (1991).
Putterill, J., Robson, F., Lee, K., Simon, R. & Coupland, G. Cell 80, 847–857 (1995).
Lloyd, A. M., Schena, M., Walbot, V. & Davis, R. Science 266, 436–439 (1994).
Aoyama, T. et al. Plant Cell 7, 1773–1785 (1995).
Shannon, S. & Meeks-Wagner, D. R. Plant Cell 3, 877–892 (1991).
Hempel, F. D. & Feldman, L. J. Planta 192, 276–286 (1994).
McDaniel, C. N., Singer, S. R. & Smith, S. M. E. Dev. Biol. 153, 59–69 (1992).
Bradley, D., Carpenter, R., Sommer, H., Hartley, N. & Coen, E. Cell 72, 85–95 (1993).
Bradley, D. et al. Nature 379, 791–797 (1996).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Simon, R., Igeño, M. & Coupland, G. Activation of floral meristem identity genes in Arabidopsis. Nature 384, 59–62 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1038/384059a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/384059a0
This article is cited by
-
Identification of a novel SNP in the miR172 binding site of Q homoeolog AP2L-D5 is associated with spike compactness and agronomic traits in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)
Theoretical and Applied Genetics (2024)
-
Photoperiod controls plant seed size in a CONSTANS-dependent manner
Nature Plants (2023)
-
Multi-layered roles of BBX proteins in plant growth and development
Stress Biology (2023)
-
Endogenous stress-related signal directs shoot stem cell fate in Arabidopsis thaliana
Nature Plants (2021)
-
The Roles of Gibberellins and Cytokinins in Plant Phase Transitions
Tropical Plant Biology (2021)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.