biostudies-literatureUnknown105(9)Rao NNActivity of axillary meristems dictates the architecture of both vegetative and reproductive parts of a plant. In Arabidopsis thaliana, a model eudicot species, the transcription factor LFY confers a floral fate to new meristems arising from the periphery of the reproductive shoot apex. Diverse orthologous LFY genes regulate vegetative-to-reproductive phase transition when expressed in Arabidopsis, a property not shared by RFL, the homolog in the agronomically important grass, rice. We have characterized RFL by knockdown of its expression and by its ectopic overexpression in transgenic rice. We find that reduction in RFL expression causes a dramatic delay in transition to flowering, with the extreme phenotype being no flowering. Conversely, RFL overexpression triggers precocious flowering.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America3646-51https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC2265177biostudies-literatureDistinct regulatory role for RFL, the rice LFY homolog, in determining flowering time and plant architecture.PMC2265177Kumar PRRao NNVijayraghavan UPrasad KfalseDistinct regulatory role for RFL, the rice LFY homolog, in determining flowering time and plant architecture.Activity of axillary meristems dictates the architecture of both vegetative and reproductive parts of a plant. In Arabidopsis thaliana, a model eudicot species, the transcription factor LFY confers a floral fate to new meristems arising from the periphery of the reproductive shoot apex. Diverse orthologous LFY genes regulate vegetative-to-reproductive phase transition when expressed in Arabidopsis, a property not shared by RFL, the homolog in the agronomically important grass, rice. We have characterized RFL by knockdown of its expression and by its ectopic overexpression in transgenic rice. We find that reduction in RFL expression causes a dramatic delay in transition to flowering, with the extreme phenotype being no flowering. Conversely, RFL overexpression triggers precocious flowering.2008-01-01T00:00:00Z2008 Mar2026-05-05T04:38:22.389Z2019-03-27T02:44:18ZS-EPMC22651771830517110.1073/pnas.0709059105