Unlocking the secrets of flowering time
An EU-funded team of biologists has discovered that a single plant protein called APETALA1 (AP1) regulates over a thousand genes and helps create the tissues that go on to form its flowers. The work was supported by the EU through the TRANSISTOR ('Trans-cis elements regulating key switches in plant development'), project, which received EUR 2.11 million from the Marie Curie scheme under the Sixth Framework Programme (FP6). The results, which are published in the journal Science, could have enormous implications for the future of plant breeding and food production. What is the mysterious process that makes plants burst into bloom? Most plants flower in the spring, but sometimes flowers can appear at unexpected times, too. Scientists have long tried to discover the mechanism that gives plants the signal to begin creating a profusion of beautiful blossoms. Now they are one step closer. An international research team, led by Plant Research International, part of Wageningen University in the Netherlands, carried out genome-wide microanalysis tests on Arabidopsis thaliana, a species of plant commonly known as mouse-ear cress, and discovered that the transcription factor protein AP1 is responsible for the plant's transition from green growth to the production of flowers by means of a series of complex molecular signals. Transcription factors are responsible for switching a cell's genes on and off. Using gene expression profiling and binding studies at the beginning of the plant's flowering stage the team identified some of the factors that control the production of AP1 in A. thaliana. They found that AP1 acts primarily as a repressor during the earliest stages of flowering, holding back production of the green parts of the plant so it can focus on generating its flowers. It also helps to shape and design the flowers. In addition, the team discovered that the protein regulates the initiation of the flowering period by integrating growth, patterning and hormonal pathways. They identified over 2,000 genes in A. thaliana that are possible AP1 targets based on their proximity to AP1 binding sites. The research results could have enormous implications for the food production and plant breeding industries. If scientists can control a plant's growing and flowering cycle, then plant biologists can grow both new varieties of food crops as well as plants and crops that can flower and fruit throughout the year, not just in spring and summer, thereby extending worldwide growing seasons. The EU's Marie Curie programme allows young scientists to take their own projects to a range of laboratories to receive expert scientific advice and training. The TRANSISTOR network brought together complementary technological expertise in a range of biological disciplines. Biology is becoming increasingly dependent on genomics, requiring biologists to become educated in bioinformatics. TRANSISTOR helped to converge biology and bioinformatics by training young biologists in genomics research and bioinformatics, thereby achieving critical mass in Europe between genetics, genomics and bioinformatics.
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Netherlands