Florigen-producing cells express FPF1-LIKE PROTEIN 1 to accelerate flowering and stem growth in Arabidopsis

Hiroshi Takagi; Nayoung Lee; Andrew K Hempton; Savita Purushwani; Michitaka Notaguchi; Kota Yamauchi; Kazumasa Shirai; Yaichi Kawakatsu; Susumu Uehara; William G Albers; Benjamin L R Downing; Shogo Ito; Takamasa Suzuki; Takakazu Matsuura; Izumi C Mori; Nobutaka Mitsuda; Daisuke Kurihara; Tomonao Matsushita; Young Hun Song; Yoshikatsu Sato; Mika Nomoto; Naoyuki Uchida; Yasuomi Tada; Kousuke Hanada; Josh T Cuperus; Christine Queitsch; Takato Imaizumi

doi:10.1016/j.devcel.2025.02.003

Florigen-producing cells express FPF1-LIKE PROTEIN 1 to accelerate flowering and stem growth in Arabidopsis

Dev Cell. 2025 Jul 7;60(13):1822-1837.e8. doi: 10.1016/j.devcel.2025.02.003. Epub 2025 Feb 27.

Authors

Hiroshi Takagi¹, Nayoung Lee², Andrew K Hempton³, Savita Purushwani³, Michitaka Notaguchi⁴, Kota Yamauchi⁵, Kazumasa Shirai⁵, Yaichi Kawakatsu⁶, Susumu Uehara⁷, William G Albers³, Benjamin L R Downing³, Shogo Ito⁸, Takamasa Suzuki⁹, Takakazu Matsuura¹⁰, Izumi C Mori¹⁰, Nobutaka Mitsuda¹¹, Daisuke Kurihara¹², Tomonao Matsushita¹³, Young Hun Song¹⁴, Yoshikatsu Sato¹⁵, Mika Nomoto¹⁶, Naoyuki Uchida¹⁶, Yasuomi Tada¹⁶, Kousuke Hanada⁵, Josh T Cuperus¹⁷, Christine Queitsch¹⁸, Takato Imaizumi¹⁹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195-1800, USA; Center for Gene Research, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8602, Japan.
² Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195-1800, USA; Plant Genomics and Breeding Institute, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea.
³ Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195-1800, USA.
⁴ Bioscience and Biotechnology Center, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan; Department of Botany, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan.
⁵ Department of Bioscience and Bioinformatics, Kyushu Institute of Technology, Iizuka 820-8502, Japan.
⁶ Bioscience and Biotechnology Center, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan.
⁷ Center for Gene Research, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8602, Japan.
⁸ Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195-1800, USA; Department of Botany, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan.
⁹ Department of Biological Chemistry, College of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Chubu University, Kasugai 487-8501, Japan.
¹⁰ Institute of Plant Science and Resources, Okayama University, Kurashiki 710-0046, Japan.
¹¹ Bioproduction Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba 305-8566, Japan.
¹² Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules (WPI-ITbM), Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan; Institute for Advanced Research (IAR), Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan.
¹³ Department of Botany, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan.
¹⁴ Plant Genomics and Breeding Institute, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea; Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea.
¹⁵ Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules (WPI-ITbM), Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan.
¹⁶ Center for Gene Research, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8602, Japan; Division of Biological Science, Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8602, Japan.
¹⁷ Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195-5065, USA.
¹⁸ Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195-5065, USA; Brotman Baty Institute for Precision Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195-8047, USA.
¹⁹ Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195-1800, USA; Center for Gene Research, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8602, Japan. Electronic address: takato@uw.edu.

PMID: 40020678
PMCID: PMC12237610 (available on 2026-02-27)
DOI: 10.1016/j.devcel.2025.02.003

Abstract

Plants induce the expression of the florigen FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) in response to seasonal changes. FT is expressed in a distinct subset of phloem companion cells in Arabidopsis. Using tissue-specific translatome analysis, we discovered that the FT-expressing cells also express FLOWERING PROMOTING FACTOR 1 (FPF1)-LIKE PROTEIN 1 (FLP1), specifically under long-day conditions with the red/far-red ratio of natural sunlight. The master regulator of FT, CONSTANS (CO), is essential for FLP1 expression, suggesting that FLP1 is involved in the photoperiod pathway. We show that FLP1 promotes early flowering independently of FT, is active in the shoot apical meristem, and induces the expression of SEPALLATA3 (SEP3), a key E-class homeotic gene. Unlike FT, FLP1 also facilitates inflorescence stem elongation. Our cumulative evidence suggests that the small FLP1 protein acts as a mobile signal like FT. Taken together, FLP1 accelerates flowering in parallel with FT and orchestrates flowering and stem elongation during the reproductive transition.

Keywords: Arabidopsis; CO; FPF1; FT; florigen; natural long days; photoperiodic flowering; stem growth.

MeSH terms

Arabidopsis Proteins* / genetics
Arabidopsis Proteins* / metabolism
Arabidopsis* / genetics
Arabidopsis* / growth & development
Arabidopsis* / metabolism
DNA-Binding Proteins / genetics
DNA-Binding Proteins / metabolism
Florigen* / metabolism
Flowers* / genetics
Flowers* / growth & development
Flowers* / metabolism
Gene Expression Regulation, Plant
Meristem / growth & development
Meristem / metabolism
Photoperiod
Plant Stems* / growth & development
Plant Stems* / metabolism
Transcription Factors / genetics
Transcription Factors / metabolism

Substances

Arabidopsis Proteins
Florigen
FT protein, Arabidopsis
Transcription Factors
DNA-Binding Proteins

Abstract

MeSH terms

Substances

Grants and funding