Abstract
In Arabidopsis, the initiation of the flowering are carried out by four genetic pathways; photoperiod, autonomous, vernalization, and gibberellin dependent pathways. These pathways merge to the process of the floral integration. Abe et al. (2002) reported that the PROTODERMAL FACTOR2 (PDF2) belongs to a member of the HD-GL2 class of homeobox genes. The constitutive overexpression of PDF2 caused the late-flowering phenotype. The late-flowering phenotype of the PDF2 overexpression plants was similar to that of fwa mutant plants, in which the FWA gene encoding a GL2-type homeodomain protein is ectopically expressed. These findings indicate that this group of genes is responsible for the repression of flowering if these genes are overexpressed. To understand the molecular mechanisms of the flowering-integration pathway, we analyzed a genetic interaction between the PDF2 gene and other flowering integrators.
