The mechanism of floral transition in bamboo remains unclear. Dendrocalamus latiflorus (Bambusease, Bambusoideae, Poaceae) is an economically and ecologically important clumping bamboo in tropical and subtropical areas. We evaluated morphological characteristics and gene expression profiling to study floral induction and early flower development in D. latiflorus. The detailed morphological stud...

The mechanisms that establish the floral meristem are now becoming clearer, but the way in which flowering is maintained is less well understood. Impatiens balsamina provides a unique opportunity to address this question because reversion to vegetative growth can be obtained in a predictable way by transferring plants from inductive to non-inductive conditions. Following increasing amounts of i...

A gene sequence was isolated from a differential display experiment to find transcripts altered in expression by overexpression of FLORAL PROMOTING FACTOR 1 (FPF1) in Arabidopsis thaliana. The gene, ACD31.2, encodes an alpha-crystallin domain containing protein with homology to small heat shock proteins. In addition to down-regulation by FPF1 overexpression, the ACD31.2 transcript is also down-...

The intention of this review is to discuss floral initiation of horticultural trees. Floral initiation is best understood for herbaceous species, especially at the molecular level, so a brief overview of the control of floral initiation of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh.) precedes the discussion of trees. Four major pathways to flowering have been characterized in Arabidopsis, inc...

Floral induction by grafting without vernalization treatment (NV method) has potential to shorten breeding times and diversify the seed production of cabbage, an important leafy vegetable with a long absolute low temperature exposure requirement for its floral induction. However, it is unknown whether NV method can be actually used cabbage production. This because method’s effect on field perfo...

The role of gibberellins (GAs) during floral induction has been widely studied in the annual plant Arabidopsis thaliana. Less is known about this control in perennials. It is thought that GA is a major regulator of flowering in rose. In spring, low GA content may be necessary for floral initiation. GA inhibited flowering in once-flowering roses, whereas GA did not block blooming in continuous-f...

One challenge for plant biology has been to identify floral stimuli at the shoot apex. Using sensitive and specific gas chromatography-mass spectrometry techniques, we have followed changes in gibberellins (GAs) at the shoot apex during long day (LD)-regulated induction of flowering in the grass Lolium temulentum. Two separate roles of GAs in flowering are indicated. First, within 8 h of an ind...