CELL SCIENCE AT A GLANCE
Flower development
pathways
Miguel A. Blázquez
Instituto de Biologia Molecular y Celular de Plantas
(CSIC), Universidad Politecnica de Valencia,
Camino de Vera s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain
This diagram displays our current
knowledge of the signaling pathways
that promote flowering and of how floral
architecture is determined in
Arabidopsis. The model is based mainly
on genetic interactions between mutants
affected in flowering time, floral
meristem identity and floral organ
identity. Some interactions, such as the
activation of the transcription of floral
organ identity genes by LEAFY, have
also been confirmed at the molecular
level.
Light
far
red red blue
clock
Sepals
Light is perceived by photoreceptors
and, if the circadian clock identifies long
photoperiods, activates a facultative
long-day pathway (shown in red). If the
photoperiod is short, flowering depends
exclusively on a gibberellin-dependent
pathway (shown in yellow) and on a
photoperiod-independent pathway that is
primarily responsive to temperature
(shown in blue). The metabolic state of
the plant is reflected in the amount of
circulating sucrose (shown in pink),
which also promotes flowering. The
ultimate targets for the flowering-time
pathways are the floral meristem identity
genes (shown in green), whose activity
confers floral identity to newly emerging
primordia. The correct arrangement of
floral organs is established initially by
the floral organ identity genes, whose
regionalized expression is a consequence
Temperature
Nutrients
Petals Stamens Carpels
3547
of activation by floral meristem identity
proteins and mutual interactions (shown
in brown).
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Gibberellins
Shoot elongation
HUA1
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CRC
SPT
(See poster insert)
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Cell Science at a Glance on the Web
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