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Seeing the light

Nature Genetics volume 38, pages 606–608 (2006)Cite this article

Flowering at the appropriate time is critical to ensure that plants complete sexual reproduction before the onset of winter in temperate habitats. A new study provides the first strong evidence that variation at a photoreceptor gene contributes to variation in flowering time and does so in a latitude-dependent manner.

The interaction of light with biological processes has shaped life on earth through both its lethal and promotive effects. Plants have been particularly successful at harnessing light for their own ends, to drive photosynthesis and to regulate growth and development. For information processing, plants possess discrete sensory pigments with absorption maxima in the blue, red and far-red regions of the spectrum, and as-yet-unidentified photoreceptors mediate responses to ultraviolet (UV)-B and green light1. The sensitivity of plants to environmental cues is enhanced by redundancies and interactions within these systems and by their interactions with systems for responding to gravity, temperature and other environmental variables.

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  1. Arnold Arboretum, Harvard University, Cambridge, 02138, Massachusetts, USA

    Sarah Mathews

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  1. Sarah Mathews
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Mathews, S. Seeing the light. Nat Genet 38, 606–608 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/ng0606-606

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ng0606-606

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