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| What causes flowering? | |
A research group at the Umeå Plant Science Centre at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Sweden, has discovered a new messenger’ molecule that fulfils the role of Florigen (the name given to this hypothetical molecule). The work was published on-line in “Science”, 11th August 2005 and in other scientific publications. Research on the same subject was reported by the Max Planck Institute in Tübingen, Germany, and the John Innes Centre in Norwich, UK in a research paper published in “Science”, 12th August 2005, E-mail: www.sciencemag.org Plants can use several signals from the environment to control when they flower. Common to the research is the discovery of a gene called FT, active in the leaves. When the gene is activated, a messenger molecule is produced that is transported to the shoot tips where it induces gene programs that control the formation of flowers. Researchers at the Max Plant Institute and the John Innes Centre, report that the FT protein binds to another protein called FD which is found at the shoot tips. FD acts on the genes that turn groups of unspecialized cells into flower buds. It is thought that the FT protein must be moving from leaves to shoot tips. Researchers claim that the results can be applied to other species since FT and FD genes are present throughout the plant kingdom. This knowledge can lead to the development of new tools to control the timing flowering and responding to the effects of climate change which is of great relevance to agriculture, horticulture and forestry. www.alphagalileo.org. John Innes Centre www.jic.ac.uk Max Planck Society www.mpg.de. Swedish Research Council (Vetenskapsrådet) e-mail: expertsvar@vr.se University: www.upsc.se |
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