开花转型是植物生殖成功的关键。高等植物开花时间调控机理研究已取得长足进步，如海藻糖可作为年龄途径miR156上游调控开花时间。十字花科特异的miR824/AGL16模块与FLC、SVP等形成异源蛋白复合体并调控下游FT基因来影响拟南芥开花；但此模块参与调控开花时间的机制尚不清楚。ChIP-seq表明AGL16可直接与海藻糖代谢相关TPS7和TPS8染色质互作，而AGL16功能缺失则显著影响二者的表达；故AGL16可能会影响TPS7和TPS8等海藻糖代谢相关基因而间接通过年龄途径调控拟南芥开花。本研究拟确认AGL16对TPS7和TPS8等基因的调控机制，评估TPS7和TPS8等对植物体内糖信号水平的影响，探索miR824/AGL16模块继而通过年龄途径对开花进行调控的可能；从而发现一个AGL16调控开花时间的新分子机理。同时，本项目发现也会对揭示海藻糖代谢的调控机制奠定基础。

Proper timing of flowering is pivotal for plant reproductive success. Main pathways and molecular mechanisms underpinning the regulation of flowering time have been well documented, for instance, trehalose can work upstream of the miR156／SPLs module, the master regulator of aging pathway, to gate the transition from vegetative growth to reproductive growth in Arabidopsis. The Brassicaceae specific miR824/AGL16 module can interact with SVP and FLC, two key players in floral transition, and affect the expression of florigen, FT, to regulate the flowering time in Arabidopsis thaliana. Here, we continue to dissect the molecular and genetic mechanisms by which the miR824/AGL16 module regulating the flowering processes. Our ChIP-seq results showed that AGL16 may interact directly with the chromatin of two trehalose-6-phosphate synthase (TPS) related genes: TPS7 and TPS8, while loss-of-function of AGL16 changed significantly the expression of both genes. In this proposal, we hypothesize that the miR824/AGL16 module may regulate the floral transition via directly controlling the transcription of TPS7/8 hence indirectly through the aging pathway. With a series of molecular genetic tools we will figure out the regulation mechanism of AGL16 on the transcription of TPS7 and TPS8. We will then test the variation of sugar metabolism following the functional change of TPS7/8. Following by, the genetic effect of the molecular interaction between miR824/AGL16 and TPS7/8 will be evaluated to find out the mechanism for miR824/AGL16 in regulating flowering. These efforts should not only detail the molecular genetic networks in flowering time control but also shed light on the mechanisms of sugar metabolism regulation.