Open AccessEARLY FLOWERING3 Encodes a Novel Protein That Regulates Circadian Clock Function and Flowering in Arabidopsis
Author(s) -
Karen A. Hicks
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
the plant cell
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.324
H-Index - 341
eISSN - 1532-298X
pISSN - 1040-4651
DOI - 10.1105/tpc.13.6.1281
Subject(s) - biology , circadian clock , arabidopsis , circadian rhythm , oscillating gene , gene , microbiology and biotechnology , regulator , transcription factor , function (biology) , genetics , clock , neuroscience , mutant
Higher plants use photoperiodic cues to regulate many aspects of development, including the transition from vegetative to floral development. The EARLY FLOWERING3 (ELF3) gene is required for photoperiodic flowering and normal circadian regulation in Arabidopsis. We have cloned ELF3 by positional methods and found that it encodes a novel 695-amino acid protein that may function as a transcriptional regulator. ELF3 transcript level is regulated in a circadian manner, as is expected of a zeitnehmer input pathway component. Overexpression of the LATE ELONGATED HYPOCOTYL gene, which has been proposed to function as a clock component, did not abolish circadian regulation of ELF3 transcription, providing further evidence that ELF3 is a circadian clock input pathway component.