CONSTANS mediates between the circadian clock and the control of flowering in Arabidopsis

Paula Suárez-López, Kay Wheatley, Frances Robson, Hitoshi Onouchi, Federico Valverde and George Coupland ()
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Paula Suárez-López: John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park
Kay Wheatley: John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park
Frances Robson: John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park
Hitoshi Onouchi: John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park
Federico Valverde: John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park
George Coupland: John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park

Nature, 2001, vol. 410, issue 6832, 1116-1120

Abstract: Abstract Flowering is often triggered by exposing plants to appropriate day lengths. This response requires an endogenous timer called the circadian clock to measure the duration of the day or night1. This timer also controls daily rhythms in gene expression and behavioural patterns such as leaf movements. Several Arabidopsis mutations affect both circadian processes and flowering time2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10; but how the effect of these mutations on the circadian clock is related to their influence on flowering remains unknown. Here we show that expression of CONSTANS (CO), a gene that accelerates flowering in response to long days11, is modulated by the circadian clock and day length. Expression of a CO target gene, called FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT), is restricted to a similar time of day as expression of CO. Three mutations that affect circadian rhythms and flowering time alter CO and FT expression in ways that are consistent with their effects on flowering. In addition, the late flowering phenotype of such mutants is corrected by overexpressing CO. Thus, CO acts between the circadian clock and the control of flowering, suggesting mechanisms by which day length regulates flowering time.

Date: 2001
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DOI: 10.1038/35074138

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