Distinct photoperiodic responses are conferred by the same genetic pathway in Arabidopsis and in rice [Review]

摘要

Plants show diverse responses to daylength. For example, Arabidopsis and rice flower in response to long and short days, respectively. A recent comparison of the molecular control of flowering has shown that the proteins that confer these responses are conserved in both species. The function of a central transcriptional regulator, called CONSTANS in Arabidopsis, is reversed, so that it activates transcription of a downstream gene in Arabidopsis but represses the expression of the orthologous gene in rice. This provides the first indication of how diverse responses to daylength are generated.