Genetic Control of Flowering Time in Rice, a Short-Day Plant

Abstract

Endogenous genetic factors and environmental sig- nals control the time of flowering in plants. One of the environmental signals is photoperiod. Genetic control mechanisms for the photoperiodic response of flowering of long-day plants (LDPs) have been extensively analyzed through the use of Arabidopsis as a model plant (for review, see Coupland, 1998; Levy and Dean, 1998; Samach and Coupland, 2000). In contrast, mechanisms in short-day plants (SDPs) remain unclear, although many physiological studies have been performed on SDPs, such as Pharbitis nil (for review, see Lumsden, 1998). Recent progress in genome analysis has provided a new strategy for analyzing the genetic control of flowering in rice (Oryza sativa; SDP). Several studies have demon- strated that the structure of genes involved in the photoperiodic response of flowering in rice show remarkable similarity to those in Arabidopsis.