BioProject

Daylength is a key indicator of seasonal information that determines major patterns of behavior in plants and animals. More...

Daylength is a key indicator of seasonal information that determines major patterns of behavior in plants and animals. Photoperiodism has been described in plants for about 100 years, but the underlying molecular mechanisms of daylength perception and signal transduction in many systems are not well understood. In trees, photoperiod perception plays a major role in growth cessation during the autumn as well as activating the resumption of shoot growth in the spring, both processes controlled by FLOWERING LOCUS T2 (FT2) expression levels and critical for the survival of perennial plants over winter. We find that night-length information is transmitted via the expression level of a poplar clock gene, LATE ELONGATED HYPOCOTYL 2 (LHY2), which controls FT2 expression. Repression of FT2 is a function of the night extension and LHY2 expression level. We show that LHY2 is necessary and sufficient to activate night-length repressive signaling. We propose that the photoperiodic control of shoot growth in poplar involves a balance between FT2 activating and repressing pathways. Overall design: Single samples were taken at each condition. Less...