Diversified mechanisms for regulating flowering time in a short-day plant rice

Flowering in rice is influenced by not only endogenous factors that comprise an autonomous pathway, but also environmental effects, such as photoperiod, water availability, and temperature just before floral initiation. Recent molecular genetics studies have elucidated the functional roles of genes involved in the photoperiod pathway, e.g., photoreceptors, circadian clock components, and short-day (SD) promotion factors. Although these molecular players are well conserved between rice andArabidopsis, their actual genetic functions are distinct. This is exemplified byHd1 (aCO counterpart) and phytochromes, in particular, ricePHYA. Hd1 has a dual role in regulating flowering time and the expression ofHd3a (anFT counterpart) repression under long-day (LD) conditions while promotion under SDs. Models have been proposed to explain these photoperiod-dependent antagonistic activities. Some regulatory factors are present in only one of the model systems, e.g.,FLC inArabidopsis orEhd1 in rice. Furthermore, epistatic relationships vary among such flowering regulators asHd3a (FT), OsMADS50 (SOCT), andOsMADS14 (AP1). Further experiments to probe these differences will be essential to enlarging our understanding of the diversified flowering regulation mechanisms in rice.