Regulation of flowering time: a splicy business

The mechanisms regulating flowering time at ambient temperatures are controversial. One hypothesis ascribes prominent roles to two competing protein isoforms of FLOWERING LOCUS M (FLM) which are produced by alternative splicing. Now, Capovilla et al. (2017) have demonstrated that alternative splicing of FLM is indeed important, but that competing protein isoforms are probably of much lesser relevance than originally thought.