Gene control of flowering time in higher plants

Flowering involves a transition process from vegetative growth to reproduct ive development, in which a series of routine changes take place in the sho ot apical meristems from metabolic pathway to external phenotype. Expressio n of the genes related to flowering is the foundation for achieving the tra nsition. Environmental factors (such as vernalization and photoperiod) and the growth status of cell itself induce the expression of the specific gene s. A lot of achievements have been made recently in gene control for the de termination of flowering time. The article reviews some new advances of suc h researches related to our work and the interesting field.