Evolutionary conservation of the FLOWERING LOCUS C-mediated vernalization response: evidence from the sugar beet (Beta vulgaris).

ABSTRACT: In many plant species, exposure to a prolonged period of cold during the winter promotes flowering in the spring, a process termed vernalization. In Arabidopsis thaliana, the vernalization requirement of winter-annual ecotypes is caused by the MADS-box gene FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC), which is a repressor of flowering. During the vernalization process, FLC is downregulated by alteration of its chromatin structure, thereby permitting flowering to occur. In wheat, a vernalization requirement is imposed by a different repressor of flowering, suggesting that some components of the regulatory network controlling the vernalization response differ between monocots and dicots. The extent to which the molecular mechanisms underlying vernalization have been conserved during the diversification of the a

SUBMITTER: Reeves PA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1893026 | biostudies-literature | 2007 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature