SHORT INTEGUMENT (SIN1), a gene required for ovule development in Arabidopsis, also controls flowering time

The short integument (sin1) mutation causes a female-specific infertility, and a defect in the control of time to flowering in Arabidopsis. Female sterility of Sin- plants is due to abnormal ovule integument development and aberrant differentiation of the megagametophyte in a subset of ovules. An additional defect of sin1 mutants is the production of an increased number of vegetative leaf and inflorescence primordia leading to delayed flowering. The delayed flowering phenotype of sin1-1 is not due to a defect in the perception of day length periodicity or in gibberellic acid metabolism. Phenotypes of double mutant combinations of sin1 with terminalflower (tfl1) indicate that SIN1 activity is required for precocious floral induction typical in a tfl1 mutant. Unexpectedly, sin1-1 tfl1-1 plants do not make pollen, thus revealing a novel role for TFL1 in the anther. Early flowers of sin1-1 ap1-1 double mutants are transformed to long inflorescence-like shoots. A genetic model for the role of SIN1 in flowering time control is proposed.