Functional conservation and divergence of FVE genes that control flowering time and cold response in rice and Arabidopsis.

Recent molecular and genetic studies in rice, a short-day plant, have elucidated both conservation and divergence of photoperiod pathway genes and their regulators. However, the biological roles of rice genes that act within the autonomous pathway are still largely unknown. In order to better understand the function of the autonomous pathway genes in rice, we conducted molecular genetic analyses of OsFVE, a rice gene homologous to Arabidopsis FVE.

Polymorphism and expression of isoflavone synthase genes from soybean cultivars.

Isoflavones are synthesized by isoflavone synthases via the phenylpropanoid pathway in legumes. We have cloned two isoflavone synthase genes, IFS1 and IFS2, from a total of 18 soybean cultivars. The amino acid residues of the proteins that differed between cultivars were dispersed over the entire coding region.