LEAFY expression and flower initiation in Arabidopsis
Citations Over TimeTop 1% of 1997 papers
Abstract
During the initial vegetative phase, the Arabidopsis shoot meristem produces leaves with associated lateral shoots at its flanks, while the later reproductive phase is characterized by the formation of flowers. The LEAFY gene is an important element of the transition from the vegetative to the reproductive phase, as LEAFY is both necessary and sufficient for the initiation of individual flowers. We have analyzed in detail the expression of LEAFY during the plant life cycle, and found that LEAFY is extensively expressed during the vegetative phase. In long days, Arabidopsis plants flower soon after germination, and this is paralleled by rapid upregulation of LEAFY. In short days, Arabidopsis plants flower several weeks later than in long days, but LEAFY expression increases gradually before flowering commences. Application of the plant hormone gibberellin, which hastens flowering in short days, enhances the gradual change in LEAFY expression observed in short days. Changes in LEAFY expression before the transition to flowering suggest that the time point of this transition is at least partly controlled by the levels of LEAFY activity that are prevalent at a given time of the life cycle. This assumption is borne out by the finding that increasing the copy number of endogenous LEAFY reduces the number of leaves produced before the first flower is formed. Thus, LEAFY combines properties of flowering-time and flower-meristem-identity genes, indicating that LEAFY is a direct link between the global process of floral induction and the regional events associated with the initiation of individual flowers.
Related Papers
- → Interactions among APETALA1, LEAFY, and TERMINAL FLOWER1 Specify Meristem Fate(1999)425 cited
- → TheFLORAL ORGAN NUMBER4Gene Encoding a Putative Ortholog of Arabidopsis CLAVATA3 Regulates Apical Meristem Size in Rice(2006)221 cited
- → A variant of LEAFY reveals its capacity to stimulate meristem development by inducing RAX1(2013)81 cited
- → Regulatory networks that function to specify flower meristems require the function of homeobox genes PENNYWISE and POUND‐FOOLISH in Arabidopsis(2008)78 cited
- → Control of stem-cell niche establishment in Arabidopsis flowers by REVOLUTA and the LEAFY-RAX1 module(2018)2 cited