CONSTANS and the evolutionary origin of photoperiodic timing of flowering

A network of promoting and inhibiting pathways that respond to environmental and internal signals controls the flowering transition. The outcome of this regulatory network establishes, for any particular plant, the correct time of the year to flower. The photoperiod pathway channels inputs from ligh...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor: Valverde, Federico
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión aceptada para publicación
Fecha de publicación:2011
País:España
Institución:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repositorio:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:digital.csic.es:10261/127882
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/127882
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Photoperiod
Floral transition
CONSTANS
Florigen
Evolution
Arabidopsis
Chlamydomonas
CrCo
Descripción
Sumario:A network of promoting and inhibiting pathways that respond to environmental and internal signals controls the flowering transition. The outcome of this regulatory network establishes, for any particular plant, the correct time of the year to flower. The photoperiod pathway channels inputs from light, day length, and the circadian clock to promote the floral transition. CONSTANS (CO) is a central regulator of this pathway, triggering the production of the mobile florigen hormone FT (FLOWERING LOCUS T) that induces flower differentiation. Because plant reproductive fitness is directly related to its capacity to flower at a precise time, the photoperiod pathway is present in all known plant species. Recent findings have stretched the evolutionary span of this photophase signal to unicellular algae, which show unexpected conserved characteristics with modern plant photoperiodic responses. In this review, a comparative description of the photoperiodic systems in algae and plants will be presented and a general role for the CO family of transcriptional activators proposed.