Abstract
Although it has long been recognized that day length affects flowering time in many plants, the underlying molecular mechanisms were not well characterized. Elucidating the day-length sensing mechanisms involved in photoperiodic flowering is now possible due to recent advances in molecular genetic analyses.
In Arabidopsis, the regulation of expression and activity of the daytime CONSTANS (CO) protein is an important mechanism for day-length discrimination in the photoperiodic flowering pathway. We have demonstrated that the circadian regulated FLAVIN-BINDING, KELCH REPEAT, F-BOX 1 (FKF1) protein is involved in the regulation of daytime expression of the CO gene. In addition, FKF1 controls CO expression partially by degrading the CO repressor, CYCLIC DOF FACTOR 1 (CDF1) transcription factor. At this meeting, we will present these findings as well as discuss the future direction of analyzing the mechanism by which FKF1 regulates CO expression.
