Responses to higher temperature
In addition to day-length changes, leaves sense information about temperature fluctuation. Studies on the effects of temperature changes on flowering time have mostly focused on vernalization responses [72]. The key regulator of the vernalization response in Arabidopsis is the FLC gene, which encodes a transcription repressor of FT. Vernalization represses the expression of FLC by regulating the chromatin status of the FLC locus; therefore, FLC repression is removed in the spring. In contrast to vernalization mechanisms, the molecular mechanisms by which ambient temperature governs the timing of floral transition (i.e., the thermosensory flowering pathway) have just begun to be elucidated (see details below). The thermoregulation of flowering also converges on the regulation of FT gene expression in leaves recruiting the components and mechanisms used for other flowering regulations.