Floral Transition Genes in Maize and Uses Thereof

Abstract

The invention provides isolated floral transition nucleic acids and their encoded proteins. The present invention provides methods and compositions relating to altering floral transition in plants. The invention further provides regulatory elements, recombinant expression cassettes, host cells and transgenic plants.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An isolated polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence that is 95% similar to SEQ ID NO: 2. 
     
     
         2 . The isolated polynucleotide of  claim 1  comprising SEQ ID NO: 1. 
     
     
         3 . A recombinant expression cassette, comprising the polynucleotide of  claim 1 , wherein the polynucleotide is operably linked, in sense or anti-sense orientation, to a promoter. 
     
     
         4 . An isolated host cell comprising the polynucleotide of  claim 1 . 
     
     
         5 . A transgenic plant comprising the polynucleotide of  claim 1 . 
     
     
         6 . The transgenic plant of  claim 5 , wherein said plant is a monocot. 
     
     
         7 . The transgenic plant of  claim 5 , wherein said plant is a dicot. 
     
     
         8 . The transgenic plant of  claim 5 , wherein said plant is selected from the group consisting of: maize, soybean, sunflower, sorghum, canola, wheat, alfalfa, cotton, rice, barley, millet, peanut and cocoa. 
     
     
         9 . A transgenic seed from the transgenic plant of  claim 5 , wherein the seed comprises said polynucleotide. 
     
     
         10 . A method of modulating the flowering time in plants, comprising:
 a. expressing in a plant cell a recombinant expression cassette comprising the polynucleotide of  claim 1  operably linked to a promoter; and   b. growing the plant under plant cell growing conditions; wherein the flowering time in said plant is modulated.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the plant cell is from a plant selected from the group consisting of: maize, soybean, sunflower, sorghum, canola, wheat, alfalfa, cotton, rice, barley, millet, peanut and cocoa. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 10  wherein said plant is used to produce hybrid seed. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the promoter is a tissue-preferred promoter. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the plant is maize. 
     
     
         15 . A method of inducing early flowering in a maize plant, the method comprising expressing a polynucleotide encoding an amino acid sequence that is 95% similar to SEQ ID NO: 2 and growing the plant in plant growing conditions.