FLOWERING IN TROPICAL AND SUBTROPICAL PLANTS: HOW CONSERVED ARE THE MECHANISMS THAT INDUCE AND CONTROL FLOWERING?

Abstract

The transition from the vegetative to the reproductive stage of plants is flowering. Internal signaling mechanisms such as age and circadian cycle, and external ones, such as photoperiod and temperature, generate a specific flowering time in plants. The understanding of the molecular mechanisms that control both processes has advanced by when using Arabidopsis thaliana as model plant for genetic and molecular studies. The knowledge of genes and their function in the control and induction of flowering has allowed the identification of homologous genes in other plants the conservation of the molecular components however, the activity and functionality of ea ch gene is different between families and genera. Despite the advances and understanding of the regulation of flowering in other plants, primarily grasses (Poaceae), the degree of functional conservation and participation of genes in flowering time, is still unknown in tropical and subtropical plants. In this revision, the current outlook as well as the need to study these mechanisms in species of national and local interest to México is presented.