title: Flowering and tuberization: a tale of two nightshades.
abstract: The concept of florigen, postulated in the early 1930s, has taken form after the identification of the FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) protein as the flowering-inducing signal. Besides their role in flowering, FT genes were subsequently reported to play additional functions in other biological processes. This is particularly relevant in the nightshades, where the FT genes appear to have undergone considerable expansion at the functional level and gained a new role in the control of storage organ formation in potato (Solanum tuberosum). Neofunctionalization of FT homologs in the nightshades identifies these proteins as a new class of primary signaling components that modulate development and organogenesis in these agronomic relevant species.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Genética Molecular de Plantas, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) Campus de Cantoblanco, c/Darwin 3, 28049 Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: José A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Abelenda
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Genética Molecular de Plantas, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) Campus de Cantoblanco, c/Darwin 3, 28049 Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Navarro
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Genética Molecular de Plantas, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) Campus de Cantoblanco, c/Darwin 3, 28049 Madrid, Spain. Electronic address: sprat@cnb.csic.es.
authors.forename: Salomé
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Prat
mesh_terms: D035264:Flowers / Q000502:physiology*; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D035281:Plant Tubers / Q000254:growth & development*; D011198:Solanum tuberosum / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D010940:Plant Proteins