Standing on the Shoulders of GIGANTEA

摘要

Recognizing seasonal change allows many plant species to select the most favorable time of the year to flower, thereby increasing the chances of their reproductive success. To recognize these transitions, a plant measures variations in day length and compares them with its circadian clock, an internal molecular oscillator that controls daily biological rhythms, such as leaf movements and the opening of stomata, pores in the plant's leaves (1). However, the molecular mechanisms underlying this coordination are still largely missing. Now, Sawa et al. on page 261 of this issue (2) and a recent study by Kim et al. (3) bring us a big step closer toward characterizing such mechanisms by identifying two light-sensing molecular switches that directly control flowering and clock oscillation.