title: Flowering responses to light and temperature.
abstract: Light and temperature signals are the most important environmental cues regulating plant growth and development. Plants have evolved various strategies to prepare for, and adapt to environmental changes. Plants integrate environmental cues with endogenous signals to regulate various physiological processes, including flowering time. There are at least five distinct pathways controlling flowering in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana: the photoperiod pathway, the vernalization/thermosensory pathway, the autonomous floral initiation, the gibberellins pathway, and the age pathway. The photoperiod and temperature/ vernalization pathways mainly perceive external signals from the environment, while the autonomous and age pathways transmit endogenous cues within plants. In many plant species, floral transition is precisely controlled by light signals (photoperiod) and temperature to optimize seed production in specific environments. The molecular mechanisms by which light and temperature control flowering responses have been revealed using forward and reverse genetic approaches. Here we focus on the recent advances in research on flowering responses to light and temperature.
authors.affiliation: National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200032, China.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200032, China.
authors.forename: Xu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200032, China.
authors.forename: Yawen
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200032, China. htliu@sibs.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Hongtao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000528:radiation effects; D035264:Flowers / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000528:radiation effects*; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental / Q000528:radiation effects; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant / Q000528:radiation effects; D008027:Light; D017440:Photoperiod; D063245:Plant Development / Q000235:genetics / Q000528:radiation effects*; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000235:genetics / Q000528:radiation effects; D013696:Temperature; D013997:Time Factors
keywords: flowering; light signaling; photoperiod; temperature; thermosensory pathway; vernalization