RICE CENTRORADIALIS 1, aTFL1-like Gene, Responses to Drought Stress and Regulates Rice Flowering Transition

Background The initiation of flowering transition in rice (Oryza sativa) is a complex process regulated by genes and environment. In particular, drought can interfere with flowering; therefore, many plants hasten this process to shorten their life cycle under water scarcity, and this is known as drought-escape response. However, rice has other strategies; for example, drought stress can delay flowering instead of accelerating it.RICE CENTRORADIALIS 1(RCN1) is aTERMINAL FLOWER-like gene that influences rice flowering transition and spike differentiation. It interacts with 14-3-3 proteins and transcription factor OsFD1 to form a florigen repression complex that suppresses flowering transition in rice. Results In this study, we explored the role ofRCN1in the molecular pathway of drought-regulated flowering transition. Thercn1mutant plants displayed early heading under both normal water and drought stress conditions, and they were more insensitive to drought stress than the wild-type plants. Abscisic acid (ABA) signaling-mediated drought-inducedRCN1is involved in this process. Conclusions Thus, RCN1 plays an important role in the process of drought stress inhibiting flowering transition. It may worked by suppressing the protein function rather than transcription ofHEADING DATE 3a.