title: Leaf-produced floral signals.
abstract: Florigen is the hypothetical leaf-produced signal that induces floral initiation at the shoot apex. The nature of florigen has remained elusive for more than 70 years. But recent progress toward understanding the regulatory network for flowering in Arabidopsis has led to the suggestion that FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) or its product is the mobile flower-inducing signal that moves from an induced leaf through the phloem to the shoot apex. In the past year, physical and chemical evidence has shown that it is FT protein, and not FT mRNA, that moves from induced leaves to the apical meristem. These results have established that FT is the main, if not the only, component of the universal florigen.
authors.affiliation: MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory and Department of Plant Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA. zeevaart@msu.edu
authors.forename: Jan A D
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Zeevaart
mesh_terms: D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D035264:Flowers / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D005875:Gibberellins / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D008954:Models, Biological; D052585:Phloem / Q000378:metabolism; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology*; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; C092776:CONSTANS protein, Arabidopsis; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; C418905:FT protein, Arabidopsis; D005875:Gibberellins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D014157:Transcription Factors