Robust Control of the Seasonal Expression of the Arabidopsis FLC Gene in a Fluctuating Environ

Plants flower at particular seasons even in unstable environments. The temperature-dependent flowering-time mechanism has been extensively studied at the molecular level, but not the gene expression in natural unpredictable environments. It would be hard for the plants to sense seasons in natural and fluctuating environments because the temperatures are not always consistent with the seasonal trends. However, Shinichiro Aikawa of Kyoto University and colleagues discovered a gene (AhgFLC) that enables the Arabidopsis halleri population to "memorize" temperatures over the past six weeks. Based on time-series analysis, up to 83% of the variation in the gene expression is dependent on the temperature exactly six weeks ago, not before or after that period. Studies regarding gene expression based on fluctuating temperatures are vital in investigating the responses of plants to possible effects of climate change.

The complete research article is available at http://www.pnas.org/content/107/25/11632.full.