抄録
Arabidopsis TFL1 is required for the establishment and maintenance of the inflorescence meristem (IM), so that tfl1 mutants show early flowering and terminal flower phenotype. FT is a flowering pathway integrator and a homolog of TFL1, but ft mutants show late flowering phenotype. We have shown that TFL1 protein moves among cell layers of the IM in a tissue and stage specific manner. Molecular dissection of TFL1 protein revealed that 21-amino acid region is sufficient for protein trafficking and this region is highly conserved in FT. When FT is expressed in the shoot apical meristem (SAM), it moves among cell layers and promotes flowering. We have revealed that FT is expressed in the vasculature of leaf apical region in response to the long-day signal. Together, these results suggest a hypothesis that FT is transmitted from leaves to the SAM via vasculature to promote flowering.
