FLC genes control flowering time to varying degrees in a Brassica napus spring cultivar
Sarah Duveneck, Kea Ille, Siegbert Melzer · 2026
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Description
Duveneck and colleagues report a 2026 plant study of flowering genes in spring oilseed rape. In the model plant Arabidopsis, a gene called FLC blocks flowering until cold weather passes. Spring rape needs no cold, yet keeps nine copies of the gene. The team used gene editing to knock out each copy in a spring cultivar and watched flowering time.
Losing the copies sped flowering up clearly, so the genes do restrain flowering in spring types too, just without a cold switch. Gene activity patterns differed among the copies: some stayed active as the plant shifted to flowering, and one copy carried steady repressive marks. No cold-linked epigenetic pattern explained the timing. Knowing which copies matter lets breeders tune flowering time in a major oil crop, matching varieties to local seasons as climates shift.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Sarah Duveneck, Kea Ille, Siegbert Melzer |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 57 KB |
| LICENSE | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |