LEAFY and APETALA1 down-regulate ZINC FINGER PROTEIN 1 and 8 to release their repression on class B and C floral homeotic genes.

Organ initiation from the shoot apical meristem first gives rise to leaves during vegetative development and then flowers during reproductive development. () is activated after floral induction and together with other factors promotes the floral program. LFY functions redundantly with APETALA1 (AP1) to activate the class B genes () and (), the class C gene (), and the class E gene , which leads to the specification of stamens and carpels, the reproductive organs of flowers. Molecular and genetic networks that control the activation of and in flowers have been well studied; however, much less is known about how these genes are repressed in leaves and how their repression is lifted in flowers. Here, we showed that two genes encoding C2H2 ZINC FINGER PROTEIN (ZFP) transcription factors, ZP1 and ZFP8, act redundantly to directly repress and in leaves. After and are activated in floral meristems, they down-regulate and directly to lift the repression on and . Our results reveal a mechanism for how floral homeotic genes are repressed and derepressed before and after floral induction.