Overriding Photoperiod Sensitivity of Flowering Time by Constitutive Expression of a MADS Box Gene

The majority of plants sense environmental signals, such as day length or temperature, to select their transition timing from vegetative growth t flowering. Here, we report the identification of a regulatory gene, OsMADS1, that controls the photoperiod sensitivity of flowering time. Constitutive expression of OsMADS1 in a long-day flowering plant, Nicotiana sylvestris, resulted in flowering in both short-day long-day conditions. Similarly, ectopic expression of the gene in a short-day flowering plant, N. tabacum cv. Maryland Mammoth, also induced flowering regardless of the day length. The transition time was dependent on the level of the OsMADS1 transcript in transgenic plants. These suggest that OsMADS1 is a key regulatory factor that determines the transition from shoot apex to floral meristem and that it can be used for controlling flowering time in a variety of plant species.