Regulation of Flowering by Trehalose-6-Phosphate Signaling in Arabidopsis thaliana

Sweet Enough to Flower In making the developmental switch from vegetative growth to flowering, plants integrate diverse information, including photoperiod, hormone signals, and carbohydrate status. Wahl et al. (p. 704 ; see the Perspective by Danielson and Frommer ) analyzed the physiology of the signaling sugar trehalose-6-phosphate (T6P) in Arabidopsis . Quantities of T6P cycle in daily rhythms that peak toward the end of the day. T6P levels in the shoot apical meristem mirrored sucrose levels. Disruption of T6P production also disrupted expression of the FLOWERING LOCUS T gene, which responds in leaves to day length and generates signals that direct the meristem to initiate flowering programs. T6P…