Genetic variation flowering time in Arabidopsis thaliana

An inventory of naturally occuring differences in flowering time among ecotypes and induced monogenic mutations is presented and discussed. In general, there are two groups of genes among the induced monogenic mutants; responsive or less responsive to environmental factors. The interaction between flowering time genes is being studied by analysing the double mutants. Flowering is not abolished or even extremely delayed in any of the constructed double mutants apparently these genes modify the process but are not essential. Many genes influence the transition to flowering in a quantitative way. All late/early flowering mutants isolated to date might have an effect on a floral repressor, possibly encoded for by the EMF pathway, which is either promotive or repressive.