• Molecules and Cells
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• v.39 no.10
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• pp.715-721
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• 2016

Plants have become physiologically adapted to a seasonally shifting environment by evolving many sensory mechanisms. Seasonal flowering is a good example of adaptation to local environmental demands and is crucial for maximizing reproductive fitness. Photoperiod and temperature are major environmental stimuli that control flowering through expression of a floral inducer, FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) protein. Recent discoveries made using the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana have shown that the functions of photoreceptors are essential for the timing of FT gene induction, via modulation of the transcriptional activator CONSTANS (CO) at transcriptional and post-translational levels in response to seasonal variations. The activation of FT transcription by the fine-tuned CO protein enables plants to switch from vegetative growth to flowering under inductive environmental conditions. The present review briefly summarizes our current understanding of the molecular mechanisms by which the information of environmental stimuli is sensed and transduced to trigger FT induction in leaves.

• BMB Reports
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.163-164
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• 2018

CONSTANS (CO) induces the expression of FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) in the photoperiodic pathway, and thereby regulates the seasonal timing of flowering. CO expression is induced and CO protein is stabilized by FLAVIN-BINDING KELCH REPEAT F-BOX PROTEIN 1 (FKF1) in the late afternoon, while CO is degraded by CONSTITUTIVE PHOTOMORPHOGENIC 1 (COP1) during the night. These regulatory cascades were thought to act independently. In our study, we investigated the relationship between FKF1 and COP1 in the regulation of CO stability in response to ambient light conditions. A genetic analysis revealed that FKF1 acts as a direct upstream negative regulator of COP1, in which cop1 mutation is epistatic to fkf1 mutation in the photoperiodic regulation of flowering. COP1 activity requires the formation of a hetero-tetramer with SUPPRESSOR OF PHYA-105 (SPA1), [$(COP1)_2(SPA1)_2$]. Light-activated FKF1 has an increased binding capacity for COP1, forming a FKF1-COP1 hetero-dimer, and inhibiting COP1 homo-dimerization at its coiled-coil (CC) domain. Mutations in the CC domain result in poor COP1 dimerization and misregulation of photoperiodic floral induction. We propose that FKF1 represses COP1 activity by inhibiting COP1 dimerization in the late afternoon under long-day conditions, resulting in early flowering.

• Proceedings of the Botanical Society of Korea Conference
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• 1996.07a
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• pp.4-9
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• 1996

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.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.153-159
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• 2008

The timing of the canopy phenology onset (CPO hereafter) indicates the initiation of the growing season, with rapid increases in exchange rates of carbon dioxide and water vapor between vegetation and atmosphere. The CPO is regarded as a potential indicator of ecosystem responses to global warming, but the CPO shows considerable spatial variation depending on the species composition and local temperature regime. at a given geographic location. In this study, we evaluated the utility of satellite observation data for detection of the timing of the CPO. Leaf area indices (LAI) obtained from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrora-diometer (MODIS) were utilized to detect and map the onset dates from 2001 to 2006. The reliability of MODIS-based onset dates was evaluated with ground measured cherry blossom flowering data from national weather stations. The MODIS onset dates preceded the observed flowering dates by 8 days and were linearly related with a correlation coefficient of 0.58 (p < 0.05). In spite of the coarse spatial (1 km) and temporal (8 days) resolutions of MODIS LAI, the MODIS-based onset dates showed reasonable ability to predict flowering dates.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.139-146
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• 2008

To clarify the relationship between the timing and the duration of flowering among populations, plants, and individual flowers, the dates of flower budding, flowering and deflowering were monitored for ten woody species from March 1 to June 30, in 2005, 2006 and 2007, in temperate deciduous forests at three sites of Namsan, and individual plants from seven woody species were monitored from March 1 to May 31, in 2006. Total durations of flower budding, flowering, and deflowering varied among the plant species. Three durations of these phenological stages of Stephanandra incisa were the longest (74 days, 109 days, and 101 days, respectively), and those of Prunus serrulata var. spontanea were the shortest (7 days, 7 days, and 4 days, respectively). For each species, phenological durations varied among years but were similar among the study sites in the same year. There was no relationship between flowering time and flowering duration on the population level. On the plant level, the duration of flower budding was over 11 days in all specie; S. incisa had the longest duration (73.3 days), and that of Styrax japonica was long as well (29.0 days), while that of Prunus leveilleana was the shortest (11.3 days). The longer the mean flower budding duration, the greater the difference among the plants within a species. The flowering duration of for S. incisa was 92.2 days, while that of Forsythia koreana was 27.2 days. The flowering durations of all other species were $10{\sim}20$ days. The deflowering duration was 92.0 days in S. incisa and <15 days in all other species. Differences among the plants in deflowering duration were smaller than those of the other phenological stages. In the species that flowered in April, the correlation coefficient between the flowering duration and the first flowering date was negative and significant. However, in the species that flowered in May, the correlation between flowering duration and the first flowering date was not significant. For individual plants of all species except for S. alnifolia, the earlier the flowering time, the longer the flowering duration. Differences between flowering time and flowering duration across years were significant in six species.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
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• 2017.06a
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• pp.100-100
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• 2017

FT is one of the major floral activator in plant flowering. FT determines the changing point of time from vegetative stage to reproductive stage. To understand the role of FT homologs in short-day plant soybean, we identified 10 soybean FT homologous genes and named GmFTs. We figured out that 10 GmFT genes were further categorized into three subclades through phylogenetic analysis. Expression analysis of GmFT genes indicated that they might have different functions in photoperiod-dependent soybean flowering. Most of GmFTs, for example, GmFT2a, GmFT2b, GmFT5a and GmFT6 mainly expressed in soybean leaves at short-day condition. However, interestingly GmFT1a and GmFT4 represented opposite expression pattern to other GmFTs. Arabidopsis transgenic plants overexpressing GmFT2a and GmFT5a exhibited extremely early flowering. In contrast, overexpression of GmFT4 delayed flowering of Arabidopsis transgenic plants. The results suggest that GmFT4 has antagonistic role to other GmFTs in soybean flowering. Interestingly, mRNA level of GmFT2a is higher in early flowering soybean accessions than in late flowering ones. Moreover, the highest point of mRNA level of GmFT2a showed the positive correlation with the timing of flowering of soybean accessions. But that of GmFT4 showed opposite pattern. Here, we report that soybean FT homologs might acquire different functions in photoperiod-dependent flowering through the functional diversification during evolution.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.427-435
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• 2023

Changes in flowering time due to weather fluctuations impact plant growth and ecosystem dynamics. Accurate prediction of flowering timing is crucial for effective forest ecosystem management. This study uses a process-based model to predict flowering timing in 2023 for five major tree species in Korean forests. Models are developed based on nine years (2009-2017) of flowering data for Abeliophyllum distichum, Robinia pseudoacacia, Rhododendron schlippenbachii, Rhododendron yedoense f. poukhanense, and Sorbus commixta, distributed across 28 regions in the country, including mountains. Weather data from the Automatic Mountain Meteorology Observation System (AMOS) and the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) are utilized as inputs for the models. The Single Triangle Degree Days (STDD) and Growing Degree Days (GDD) models, known for their superior performance, are employed to predict flowering dates. Daily temperature readings at a 1 km spatial resolution are obtained by merging AMOS and KMA data. To improve prediction accuracy nationwide, random forest machine learning is used to generate region-specific correction coefficients. Applying these coefficients results in minimal prediction errors, particularly for Abeliophyllum distichum, Robinia pseudoacacia, and Rhododendron schlippenbachii, with root mean square errors (RMSEs) of 1.2, 0.6, and 1.2 days, respectively. Model performance is evaluated using ten random sampling tests per species, selecting the model with the highest R². The models with applied correction coefficients achieve R² values ranging from 0.07 to 0.7, except for Sorbus commixta, and exhibit a final explanatory power of 0.75-0.9. This study provides valuable insights into seasonal changes in plant phenology, aiding in identifying honey harvesting seasons affected by abnormal weather conditions, such as those of Robinia pseudoacacia. Detailed information on flowering timing for various plant species and regions enhances understanding of the climate-plant phenology relationship.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.45 no.5
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• pp.282-287
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• 2000

Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merrill] crops, grown in a rice soybean rotation, can suffer when grown in soil with excessive moisture. The objective of this work were to determine the reduction in growth and yield, responses of vegetative and reproductive growth of soybean to excessive soil moisture achieved by prolonged irrigation. Responses of different cultivars were determined at growth stages from V6 to R8 to clarify the sensitive growth stages or characteristics to excessive soil moisture. Cultivar differences in response to excessive soil moisture condition were conspicuous in seed dry weight and harvest index (HI) but not in the response of seed number or pod number per plant. The timing of irrigation causing the condition of excessive soil moisture influenced the vegetative or reproductive traits. Soybean plants were more affected by irrigation commencing at the pre-flowering than at the post-flowering stage. Post-flowering irrigation did not reduce growth of vegetative organs significantly; in fact the growth of stems and leaves was facilitated by the prolonged irrigation commencing at flowering. Differences between cultivar response to prolonged irrigation were assumed to relate to the reduced amount of assimilates translocated to the reproductive organ.

• FLOWER RESEARCH JOURNAL
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.179-186
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• 2018

Ranunculus asiaticus characterizes colorful and attractive flower shapes that are related with the ornamental value of bulbous plants. Improving ornamental value of bulbous flowers has been the general goal of floricultural market. Gibberellic acid ($GA_3$) and benzyladenine (BA) play an important role in growth and developmental processes in floriculture. Combinational treatments of these two hormones have been used in floriculture to improve flower quality. We assessed the effects of combined $GA_3$ and BA, as well as the individual effects of each hormone, on growth characteristics using soil drench application to eight R. asiaticus cultivars, 'Giallo Millepetali', 'Bianco Millepetali', 'Arancio Millepetali', 'Rosa SC', 'Arancio Pratolino', 'Giallo Pratolino', 'Bianco Pratolino', and 'Rosa Ch Pratolino'. $GA_3$ treatments increased plant height and first flower size of R. asiaticus cultivars. Moreover, about 5 to 9 days to flowering were averagely shortened by $GA_3$ treatments compared to controls. On the other hand, the opposites, including first flower size and days to flowering, were observed for cultivars treated with BA, compared with controls. Treatments of $GA_3$ + BA generally affected growth traits, such as plant height, flower size, and the timing of flowering on some R. asiaticus cultivars. In particular, about 5 to 6 days to flowering were reduced on average by Treatments of $GA_3$ + BA. Our results showed positive growth effects, including plant height, days to flowering, first flower height, number of flowers from the application of individual and combined hormones to R. asiaticus cultivars and demonstrate a role for these hormones in future bulbous floriculture.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.113-120
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• 2020

For the conservation of both Sericinus montela (vulnerable species by red book of Korea) and A. contorta, we investigated environmental factors affecting the growth and reproduction of Aristolochia contorta. We selected four A. contorta habitats at Gapyeong, Pyeongtaek, Cheongju, and Yeoju in Korea and surveyed community and habitat characteristics of companion species, herbivore appearance, support types, and soil physicochemical properties in July and October, 2018. Habitat environments and the growth and reproduction characteristics of A. contorta were different according to four habitats of different regions. In particular, the fastest growth speed and earliest flowering and fruiting were observed in Pyeongtaek. Growth of A. contorta in Cheongju and Yeoju were interrupted by aboveground damage from human disturbance. In this study, support types seemed to be important for growth speed of A. contorta. Flowering and fruiting timing were likely to be related to combined effects of soil cation contents and competitive and herbivore stresses. Therefore, providing effective support and reducing biological stress should be necessary for stable growth and proper flowering and fruiting timing of A. contorta. In addition, experimental evidence would be needed to figure out the effect of soil cation and biological stress on flowering and fruiting of A. contorta in detail.