Molecular mechanisms for formation of florigen activation complex and its application toward flowering control

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 24688001
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (A)
• Allocation Type: Partial Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Breeding science
• Research Institution: Nara Institute of Science and Technology
• Principal Investigator: TSUJI Hiroyuki 奈良先端科学技術大学院大学, バイオサイエンス研究科, 助教 (40437512)
• Project Period (FY): 2012-04-01 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: フロリゲン / メリステム / イネ / 花成

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Florigen is a systemic floral signal that is generated in leaves and transported to the shoot apical meristem (SAM). The molecular nature of florigen is elucidated recently as the FT/Hd3a protein, and florigen receptor and functional transcriptional complex are identified. However, key questions regarding florigen complex remain to be answered. They include distribution of florigen and formation of the complex in the SAM. In this study these questions are answered through the unique technique of imaging SAM. The results indicated that florigen distributes throughout the course of inflorescence development to regulate its architecture. Molecular basis of multi-functionality of florigen is also revealed. The transcription factors (TFs) incorporated into the florigen complex determine the functional consequence of the resultant complex, and coincidence of florigen distribution and organ-specific expression of TFs detemine the different functions in the different developmental contexts.

Free Research Field

植物分子遺伝学