Climate change is expected to alter patterns of species co-occurrence, in both space and time. Species-specific shifts in reproductive phenology may alter the assemblages of plant species in flower at any given time during the growing season. Temporal overlap in the flowering periods (co-flowering) of animal-pollinated species may influence reproductive success if competitive or facilitative in...

The genetic basis of phenotypic traits is of great interest to evolutionary biologists, but their contribution to adaptation in nature is often unknown. To determine the genetic architecture of flowering time in ecologically relevant conditions, we used a recombinant inbred line population created from two locally adapted populations of Arabidopsis thaliana from Sweden and Italy. Using these RI...

The timing of the floral transition in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) is influenced by a number of environmental signals. Here, we have focused on acceleration of flowering in response to vegetative shade, a condition that is perceived as a decrease in the ratio of red to far-red radiation. We have investigated the contributions of several known flowering-time pathways to this acceleration....

Plants interact with their environment and they often flower earlier under stress conditions, but how such stress-induced flowering is regulated remains poorly understood. Here evidence is presented that the miR169 family plays a key role in stress-induced flowering in plants. The microRNA (miRNA) miR169 family members are up-regulated in Arabidopsis, maize, and soybean under abiotic stresses. ...

Flowering time in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana is regulated by both external environmental signals and internal developmental pathways. Natural variation at the FLOWERING H (FLH) locus has previously been described, with alleles present in the Cape Verde Islands accession causing early flowering, particularly after vernalization. The mechanism of FLH-induced early flowering is not under...

Early flowering is an important trait influencing grain yield and quality in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) in short-season cropping regions. However, due to large and complex genomes of these species, direct identification of flowering genes and their molecular characterization remain challenging. Here, we used a bioinformatic approach to predict flowering-related...

CONSTANS (CO) promotes flowering of Arabidopsis in response to long photoperiods. Transgenic plants carrying CO fused with the cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter (35S::CO) flowered earlier than did the wild type and were almost completely insensitive to length of day. Genes required for CO to promote flowering were identified by screening for mutations that suppress the effect of 35S::CO. Fo...

In bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), the simultaneous improvement of both yield and grain protein is difficult because of the strong negative relationship between these two traits. However, some genotypes deviate positively from this relationship and this has been linked to their ability to take up nitrogen (N) during the post-flowering period, regardless of their N status at flowering. The p...

Flowering time of the short-day plant Chrysanthemum morifolium is largely dependent upon daylength, but it is also distinctly influenced by other environmental factors. Flowering is delayed by summer heat. Here, the underlying basis for this phenomenon was investigated. Heat-induced flowering retardation occurred similarly in C. morifolium and C. seticuspe, a wild-type diploid chrysanthemum. In...

Timing of flowering is a reproductive trait that has significant impact on fitness in plants. In contrast to recent advances in understanding the molecular basis of floral transition, few empirical studies have addressed questions concerning population processes of flowering time diversification within species. We analyzed chloroplast DNA genealogical structure of flowering time variation in ce...