title: Molecular basis of age-dependent vernalization in Cardamine flexuosa.
abstract: Plants flower in response to many varied cues, such as temperature, photoperiod, and age. The floral transition of Cardamine flexuosa, a herbaceous biennial-to-perennial plant, requires exposure to cold temperature, a treatment known as vernalization. C. flexuosa younger than 5 weeks old are not fully responsive to cold treatment. We demonstrate that the levels of two age-regulated microRNAs, miR156 and miR172, regulate the timing of sensitivity in response to vernalization. Age and vernalization pathways coordinately regulate flowering through modulating the expression of CfSOC1, a flower-promoting MADS-box gene. The related annual Arabidopsis thaliana, which has both vernalization and age pathways, does not possess an age-dependent vernalization response. Thus, the recruitment of age cue in response to environmental signals contributes to the evolution of life cycle in plants.
authors.affiliation: National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics (NKLPMG), Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology (SIPPE), Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences (SIBS), Shanghai, P R China.
authors.forename: Chuan-Miao
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Tian-Qi
authors.initials: TQ
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Xi
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Sha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Heng
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lian
authors.forename: Hongbo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: Zheng-Yan
authors.initials: ZY
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.forename: Judita
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zozomova-Lihová
authors.forename: Jia-Wei
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D031217:Cardamine / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development*; D003080:Cold Temperature; D035264:Flowers / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development*; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D026161:MADS Domain Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000378:metabolism; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D026161:MADS Domain Proteins; D035683:MicroRNAs; D010940:Plant Proteins