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Updated: May 8, 2026

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Published on: January 14, 2016
Environmental control of flowering through alternative splicing of FLC and COOLAIR
Tonghui Wu1, Ting Jia2, Xueyun Hu1
1College of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, 225009, China; Joint International Research Laboratory of Agriculture and Agri-Product Safety of the Ministry of Education of China, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, 225009, China.
Abstract:
Precise control of flowering time allows plants to align reproductive development with favorable environmental conditions. In Arabidopsis thaliana, FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC) serves as a central floral repressor that integrates inputs from multiple signaling pathways. While FLC expression is classically silenced through vernalization-mediated epigenetic mechanisms, emerging evidence highlights alternative splicing (AS) of both FLC and its antisense transcript COOLAIR as a rapid, reversible, and environmentally responsive layer of post-transcriptional regulation. This review synthesizes current knowledge on how temperature and photoperiod modulate the splicing dynamics of FLC and COOLAIR, thereby fine-tuning FLC expression and flowering responses. We further discuss the gene regulatory networks that link environmental cues to the AS of FLC and COOLAIR. Deciphering these mechanisms offers valuable insights for engineering environment-resilient crops with optimized flowering time through molecular breeding.
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