Publications (2)62.4 Total impact
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Article: CO/FT regulatory module controls timing of flowering and seasonal growth cessation in trees.
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ABSTRACT: Forest trees display a perennial growth behavior characterized by a multiple-year delay in flowering and, in temperate regions, an annual cycling between growth and dormancy. We show here that the CO/FT regulatory module, which controls flowering time in response to variations in daylength in annual plants, controls flowering in aspen trees. Unexpectedly, however, it also controls the short-day-induced growth cessation and bud set occurring in the fall. This regulatory mechanism can explain the ecogenetic variation in a highly adaptive trait: the critical daylength for growth cessation displayed by aspen trees sampled across a latitudinal gradient spanning northern Europe.Science 06/2006; 312(5776):1040-3. · 31.20 Impact Factor -
Article: The mRNA of the Arabidopsis gene FT moves from leaf to shoot apex and induces flowering.
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ABSTRACT: Day length controls flowering time in many plants. The day-length signal is perceived in the leaf, but how this signal is transduced to the shoot apex, where floral initiation occurs, is not known. In Arabidopsis, the day-length response depends on the induction of the FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) gene. We show here that local induction of FT in a single Arabidopsis leaf is sufficient to trigger flowering. The FT messenger RNA is transported to the shoot apex, where downstream genes are activated. These data suggest that the FT mRNA is an important component of the elusive "florigen" signal that moves from leaf to shoot apex.Science 10/2005; 309(5741):1694-6. · 31.20 Impact Factor