Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation

Si-Bum Sung

Richard Mark Amasino

Fritz Michael Schomburg

Scott Daniel Michaels

Katia Scortecci

Edward T Himelblau

Yuehui He

The present invention provides genetic identification and use information about a family of genes, the FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC) genes, that is part of the regulate the timing of the onset of flowering in plants. This information enables creation of transgenic plants in which the timing of the flowering of the plants has been selectively altered. Since these genes natively act to delay the time of flowering in plants, enhancing activity of the FLC protein delays the timing of flowering initiation while inhibiting the activity of FLC advances the timing of the start of flowering. A representative number of samples of the gene family are described. Members of the gene family are demonstrated to work in other plant species as well.

Alteration of flowering time in plants

The invention provides vernalization-related polypeptides, nucleic acids and methods of using the same for inducibly-conferring epigenetic change on a target gene in plant or non-plant settings.

Vernalization-related molecules and methods for inducibly-conferring epigenetic changes

The present invention discloses the function, the cDNA sequences, and the expressed amino acid sequences of two genes the expression of each of which delayed the flower initiation time of a plant. This information enables creation of transgenic plants with altered flower initiation time.

Growing community of inventors

Madison, WI, United States of America

Si-Bum Sung