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Vernalization

Cold exposure triggers flowering in many temperate plants.

Vernalization is the process by which prolonged cold exposure induces a plant's ability to flower.[1] After this cold treatment, plants acquire flowering competence but may still need additional cues to actually bloom.[1] The cold needed for vernalization typically falls in the range of 1 to 7 °C.[2]

Quick Facts

Field
Plant physiology, agriculture
Known for
Induction of flowering by prolonged cold exposure
Typical temperatures
1 to 7 degrees Celsius (34 to 45 degrees Fahrenheit)

Facts from the source article.

Key facts and history

Farmers historically distinguished winter cereals, which need chilling, from spring cereals, which do not.[3] Soviet agronomist Trofim Lysenko coined the term "yarovizatsiya" in 1928, later translating it to "vernalization" from the Latin for spring.[4] French botanist P. Chouard gave the formal definition in 1960 as "the acquisition or acceleration of the ability to flower by a chilling treatment"[4] Lysenko's work drew wide attention for its practical consequences for Russian agriculture after severe cold destroyed winter wheat seedlings.[5]

The molecular mechanism involves repression of the Flowering Locus C (FLC) protein through chromatin remodeling during cold exposure.[6][7] Gustav Gassner, a German plant physiologist, published a thorough analysis in 1918 that distinguished the cold requirements of winter plants from those of summer plants.[3] Lysenko applied moisture and cold to wheat seeds, which enabled those seeds to produce a harvest when sown in the spring.[5]

What the cited sources add

The same source notes that mutants called vernalization 1 and vernalization 2 were identified in screens for late-flowering plants after vernalization treatment.[8] In vrn1 or vrn2 mutants, FLC expression is reduced by vernalization but not maintained at low levels when returned to warmth.[8] The VERNALIZATION INSENSITIVE 3 (VIN3) gene encodes a PHD finger protein essential for initial FLC repression during vernalization.[8] VIN3 expression increases during vernalization, and a subsequent reduction of FLC is observed.[8]

According to a self-published plant biology guide, a meristem that has undergone vernalization can stay competent for up to 300 days even when no inductive signal is present.[9]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Vernalization" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Sokolski, "Axenic seed culture and micropropagation of Cypripedium reginae", Selbyana, 1997, p. 172–82; Chouard, "Vernalization and its relations to dormancy", Annual Review of Plant Physiology, June 1960, p. 191–238 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Vernalization" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Taiz, "Plant Physiology and Development", Sinauer Associates, 2015, p. 605 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Vernalization" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Chouard, "Vernalization and its Relations to Dormancy", Annual Review of Plant Physiology, 1960, p. 191–238 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Vernalization" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Poltronieri, "Applied Plant Genomics and Biotechnology", Woodhead Publishing, 2015, p. 121 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Vernalization" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Roll-Hansen, "A new perspective on Lysenko?", Annals of Science, 1985, p. 261–278; Amasino, "Vernalization, Competence, and the Epigenetic Memory of Winter", The Plant Cell, 2004, p. 2553–2559; Li, "The conversion of spring wheat into winter wheat and vice versa: false claim or Lamarckian inheritance?", Journal of Biosciences, 2010-05-06, p. 321–325 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Vernalization" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Sung, "Epigenetic maintenance of the vernalized state in Arabidopsis thaliana requires LIKE HETEROCHROMATIN PROTEIN 1", Nature Genetics, 2006, p. 706–10; Amasino, "Seasonal and developmental timing of flowering", The Plant Journal, 2010, p. 1001–13; Choi, "The FRIGIDA Complex Activates Transcription ofFLC, a Strong Flowering Repressor in Arabidopsis, by Recruiting Chromatin Modification Factors", The Plant Cell, 2011, p. 289–303; Sung, "Vernalization in Arabidopsis thaliana is mediated by the PHD finger protein VIN3", Nature, 2004, p. 159 en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Vernalization" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: http://www.jic.ac.uk/news/2014/10/plants-require-coolair-flower-spring; Csorba, "Antisense COOLAIR mediates the coordinated switching of chromatin states atFLCduring vernalization", Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2014, p. 16160–5; Heo, "Vernalization-Mediated Epigenetic Silencing by a Long Intronic Noncoding RNA", Science, 2011, p. 76–9; Angel, "A Polycomb-based switch underlying quantitative epigenetic memory", Nature, 2011, p. 105–8; Crevillén, "Epigenetic reprogramming that prevents trans-generational inheritance of t en.wikipedia.org
  8. "Vernalisation pathway", Plant Biology }}{{self-published source, March 2016. facts only, no text reused. plant-biology.com
  9. "Vernalisation response", Plant Biology }}{{self-published source, March 2016. facts only, no text reused. plant-biology.com

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Vernalization (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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