flowering-control
Flowering control refers to the molecular and environmental mechanisms that regulate when and how plants transition from vegetative growth to reproductive development, including responses to light, temperature, and internal hormonal signals. Understanding these pathways is fundamental to plant science because flowering time directly determines reproductive success, crop yield, and adaptation to seasonal and geographic conditions. Researchers study genes and signaling networks governing this transition to improve agricultural productivity and help plants adapt to changing climates.
open_in_new WikipediaPubMed · 2026-05-04
A protein called Florigen (FT) acts as a seasonal timing signal in plants, traveling from leaves to growing tips to trigger flowering, tuber formation, and bud growth. This review synthesizes how FT works across many species and reveals a relay mechanism that helps plants commit to and sustain major developmental changes.
The FT florigen protein is produced in leaf veins in response to day length, then moves through the plant's vascular system to the shoot tip to trigger flowering or tuber formation across diverse species including cereals, tomato, potato, and trees.
FT forms a functional complex with bZIP transcription factors and 14-3-3 proteins to activate target genes, while closely related 'anti-florigen' proteins (TFL1 paralogs) act as negative regulators that fine-tune the timing of developmental transitions.
A newly described relay mechanism shows that FT genes (or close relatives) are re-activated at the shoot tip after FT protein arrives — identified in cereals, tomato, Arabidopsis, and potato stolons — suggesting this amplification loop helps sustain and lock in the photoperiod-induced developmental switch.
