Flowering Locus C
Template:Short description Flowering Locus C [1] (FLC) is a MADS-box gene that in late-flowering ecotypes of the plant Arabidopsis thaliana is responsible for vernalization. In a new seedling FLC is expressed, which prevents flowering. Upon exposure to cold, less FLC is expressed (to a degree depending on the amount of cold), and flowering becomes possible.[2] FLC is extensively regulated through epigenetic modifications and transcriptional control.
The expression of FLC is affected by other genes including FLK,[3] FCA[4] and VERNALIZATION2 (VRN2).[4]
Wild Arabidopsis plants have different alleles for the FLC gene, which correspond to ecotypes which either (a) flower rapidly and produce a number of generations during one summer (summer-annual), or (b) flower only after vernalization (winter-annual or late-flowering). This kind of variation can also be provided by variation in the FRIGIDA (FRI) gene.[5]