Recent advances in the chromatin-based mechanism of repression through autonomous pathway genes.

Proper timing of flowering, a phase transition from vegetative to reproductive development, is crucial for plant fitness. The floral repressor () is the major determinant of flowering in . In rapid-cycling accessions, which bloom rapidly, is constitutively repressed by autonomous pathway (AP) genes, regardless of photoperiod. Diverse AP genes have been identified over the past two decades, and most of them repress through histone modifications. However, the detailed mechanism underlying such modifications remains unclear. Several recent studies have revealed novel mechanisms to control repression in concert with histone modifications. This review summarizes the latest advances in understanding the novel mechanisms by which AP proteins regulate repression, including changes in chromatin architecture, RNA polymerase pausing, and liquid-liquid phase separation- and ncRNA-mediated gene silencing. Furthermore, we discuss how each mechanism is coupled with histone modifications in chromatin.