Arabidopsis 2010: Gene Identification in the Photoperiod and Circadian Network of Flowering Control

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0209786AmasinoThe initiation of flowering is a critical developmental decision in the plant life cycle. A common environmental cue used by many plant species to initiate flowering during the proper season is the change of day-length (photoperiod). The perception of photoperiod relies upon the circadian clock. Genetical studies over the past two decades indicate that a significant fraction of the genome is involved in flowering-time control. Our project goal is to screen the collections of T-DNA insertion lines we have created for mutants that are early flowering in non-inductive photoperiods. These mutants will identify a set of genes involved in the biological function of daylength perception and the circadian rhythm network. Our preliminary results indicate that many of these genes will be unique to the plant genome (i.e., no obvious homologs in animals or fungi) and that large-scale forward genetic screens are the most efficient way to identify these plant-specific genes. This area of research holds much promise for the discovery of novel plant genes and gene families, and in the long term will contribute to understanding the intimate link between the circadian clock and photoperiod perception at a molecular level. Given the central role of the timing of flowering in crop productivity, our work may also provide strategies to manipulate flowering to enhance crop yields. Current information on the phenotypes, map location and gene identities of the mutants that we characterize will be available at http://www.biochem.wisc.edu/2010flowering/ (this site will be available in December 2002) and we will notify The Arabidopsis Information Resource (TAIR) (http://www.arabidopsis.org/home.html) of gene identities so that they can update their annotation. All mutants will be deposited with the Ohio State University Arabidopsis stock center (http://www.biosci.ohiostate.edu/~plantbio/Facilities/abrc/ABRCHOME.HTM).