Amity Institute of Microbial Technology, Amity University, Noida, Uttar Pradesh, 201313, India.
Department of Biology, KU Leuven, Leuven, B-3001, Belgium.
Physiol Plant. 2020 Nov;170(3):373-383. doi: 10.1111/ppl.13163. Epub 2020 Aug 13.
Winter varieties of plants can flower only after exposure to prolonged cold. This phenomenon is known as vernalization and has been widely studied in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana as well as in monocots. Through the repression of floral activator genes, vernalization prevents flowering in winter. In Arabidopsis, FLOWERING LOCUS C or FLC is the key repressor during vernalization, while in monocots vernalization is regulated through VRN1, VRN2 and VRN3 (or FLOWERING LOCUS T). Interestingly, VRN genes are not homologous to FLC but FLC homologs are found to have a significant role in vernalization response in cereals. The presence of FLC homologs in monocots opens new dimensions to understand, compare and retrace the evolution of vernalization pathways between monocots and dicots. In this review, we discuss the molecular mechanism of vernalization-induced flowering along with epigenetic regulations in Arabidopsis and temperate cereals. A better understanding of cold-induced flowering will be helpful in crop breeding strategies to modify the vernalization requirement of economically important temperate cereals.
植物的冬季品种只有在经历长时间的寒冷后才能开花。这种现象被称为春化作用，已在模式植物拟南芥以及单子叶植物中得到了广泛研究。通过抑制花激活基因，春化作用阻止冬季开花。在拟南芥中，开花位点 C 或 FLC 是春化作用期间的关键抑制物，而在单子叶植物中，春化作用通过 VRN1、VRN2 和 VRN3（或开花位点 T）来调节。有趣的是，VRN 基因与 FLC 没有同源性，但在禾本科植物中发现 FLC 同源物在春化作用反应中具有重要作用。单子叶植物中 FLC 同源物的存在为理解、比较和追溯单子叶植物和双子叶植物之间春化途径的进化开辟了新的维度。在这篇综述中，我们讨论了拟南芥和温带禾本科植物中春化诱导开花的分子机制以及表观遗传调控。深入了解低温诱导开花将有助于经济上重要的温带禾本科作物的作物育种策略，以改变其对春化作用的需求。
