A latitudinal cline in flowering time in Arabidopsis thaliana modulated by the flowering time gene FRIGIDA.

ABSTRACT: A latitudinal cline in flowering time in accessions of Arabidopsis thaliana has been widely predicted because the environmental cues that promote flowering vary systematically with latitude, but evidence for such clines has been lacking. Here, we report evidence of a significant latitudinal cline in flowering time among 70 Northern European and Mediterranean ecotypes when grown under ecologically realistic conditions in a common garden environment. The detected cline, however, is found only in ecotypes with alleles of the flowering time gene FRIGIDA (FRI) that lack major deletions that would disrupt protein function, whereas there is no relationship between flowering time and latitude of origin among accessions with FRI alleles containing such deletions. Analysis of climatological data sug

SUBMITTER: Stinchcombe JR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC384812 | biostudies-literature | 2004 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature