Milec Z., Valárik M., Bartoš J., Šafář J.
BIOTECHNOLOGY ADVANCES 32: 200-214, 2014

Keywords: Flowering, Photoperiod, Vernalization, Biotechnology, Genomics, Wheat, Rice, Arabidopsis
Abstract: The transition from the vegetative to reproductive stage followed by inflorescence is a critical step in plant life; therefore, studies of the genes that influenceflowering time have always been of great interest to scientists. Flowering is a process controlled by many genes interacting mutually in a genetic network, and several hypothesis and models offlowering have been suggested so far. Plants in temperate climatic conditions must respond mainly to changes in the day length (photoperiod) and unfavourable winter temperatures. To avoidflowering before winter, some plants exploit a specific mechanism called vernalization. This review summarises current achievements in the study of genes controllingflowering in the dicot model species thale cress (Arabidopsis thaliana), as well as in monocot model species rice (Oryza sativa) and temperate cereals such as barley (Hordeum vulgareL.) and wheat (Triticum aestivumL.). The control offlowering in crops is an attractive target for modern plant breeding efforts aiming to prepare locally well-adapted cultivars. The recent progress in genomics revealed the importance of minor-effect genes (QTLs) and natural allelic variation of genes forfine-tuningflowering and better cultivar adaptation. We briefly describe the up-to-date technologies and approaches that scientists may employ and we also indicate how these modern biotechnological tools and“-omics”can expand our knowledge offlowering in agronomically important crops.
DOI:
Fulltext: contact IEB authors
IEB authors: Jan Bartoš, Zbyněk Milec, Jan Šafář, Miroslav Valárik