Protein interactions of MADS box transcription factors involved in flowering in Lolium perenne.

Regulation of flowering time is best understood in the dicot model species Arabidopsis thaliana. Molecular analyses revealed that genes belonging to the MADS box transcription factor family play pivotal regulatory roles in both the vernalization- and photoperiod-regulated flowering pathways. Here the analysis of three APETALA1 (AP1)-like MADS box proteins (LpMADS1-3) and a SHORT VEGETATIVE PHASE (SVP)-like MADS box protein (LpMADS10) from the monocot perennial grass species Lolium perenne is reported.