FLD interacts with genes that affect different developmental phase transitions to regulate Arabidopsis shoot development

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Abstract
A new fld mutant allele, fld‐2, which significantly delayed flowering, was isolated and characterized in Arabidopsis thaliana. Even under long‐day conditions after more than 100 days in the greenhouse, the majority of fld‐2 mutant plants had not bolted. In addition, mutant inflorescences produced more than 10 co‐florescences that were subtended by a high number of rosette‐like leaves before giving rise to flowers. The late‐flowering phenotype of the fld‐2 mutation could be partially overcome by both vernalization and GA treatment but it was not influenced by 5‐azaC treatment. Phenotypic analyses of double mutants indicated that fld‐2 is epistatic to early flowering mutants elf1, elf2 and elf3. In addition, fld‐2 could enhance vegetative characteristics in embryonic flower 1 (emf1) mutants by causing many small sessile leaves in fld‐2 emf1 double mutants. The relief of the terminal flower 1 (tfl1) mutant phenotype in fld‐2 tfl1 double mutants, and the enhancement of leafy (lfy) and apetala1 (ap1) mutant phenotypes in fld‐2 lfy and fld‐2 ap1 double mutants, suggest that FLD is also likely to be involved in the floral transition. Our results strongly suggest that the FLD gene plays a key role in regulating the reproductive competence of the shoot and results in different developmental phase transitions in Arabidopsis.