ABSTRACT
Background Transition from vegetative to reproductive growth is one of the most important developmental switches in plant’s life cycle. In annual plants, like Arabidopsis, owering and consequent seed production is essential for the survival of the population until the following season. To assure timely owering in various environments, Arabidopsis utilizes several genetic pathways that are activated by various external or internal cues. Light and temperature, acting through photoperiod, light quality, vernalization and ambient temperature pathways, are the most important environmental factors regulating owering time [1]. Moreover, gibberellin (GA) and autonomous pathways promote owering by responding to internal cues [2,3]. In contrast to annual plants, the growth of perennials continues after
generative reproduction, and the same developmental program is repeated from year to year. Regulation of generative development in these species is even more complex, because other processes like juvenility, winter dormancy and chilling are tightly linked to the control of owering time.
