DICER-LIKE 1 and DICER-LIKE 3 Redundantly Act to promote flowering via repression of FLOWERING LOCUS C in Arabidopsis thaliana

In Arabidopsis thaliana, DICER-LIKE 1 and DICER-LIKL 3 are involved in the generation of small RNA-s. Double mutants between dicer-like 1 and dicer-like 3 exhibit a delay in flowering that is caused by increased expression of the floral repressor FLOWERING LOCUS C. This delayed-flowering phenotype is similar to that of autonomous-pathway mutants, and the flowering delay can be overcome by vernalization.