Abstract
AtC401 was isolated as an Arabidopsis homologue of the Pharbitis nil C401 (PnC401) that is a gene of which encodes a leaf protein closely related to photoperiodic induction of flowering, and shows a circadian rhythm at the transcriptional level. AtC401 consists of a kinase domain in the N-terminal half and 12 times of pentatricopeptide repeat (PPR) in the C-terminal half. AtC401 protein physically interacts with CONSTANS, through PPR motif, in Yeast. To investigate the function of AtC401, atc401 mutant, AtC401-overexpressor(OX), double mutant co-1/atc401, CO-OX/atc401, CO-OX/AtC401-OX, and co-1/AtC401-OX were made, and analyzed the flowering time. Although AtC401-OX showed almost no difference compared to wild type Columbia, and CO-OX showed early flowering, CO-OX/atc401, and CO-OX/AtC401-OX showed late flowering phenotype. These results suggest that AtC401 functions as a floral regulator, by associating with CONSTANS.
