CONICET | Buscador de Institutos y Recursos Humanos

Background and Aims: Two critical developmental transitions inplants are seed germination and flowering, and the timing of these transitionshas strong fitness consequences. Howgenetically independent the regulation of these transitions is can influencethe expression of life cycles. Methods: Here we tested whether genes in the autonomousflowering-time pathway pleiotropically regulate flowering time and seedgermination in the genetic model Arabidopsisthaliana, and tested whether the interactions among those genes areconcordant between flowering and germination stages. Key Results: We found that several autonomous-pathway genes promoteflowering and impede germination. Moreover, the interactions among those genes were highly concordantbetween the regulation of flowering and germination. Conclusions: Despite somedegree of functional divergence between the regulation of flowering andgermination by autonomous-pathway genes, the autonomous pathway is highlyfunctionally conserved across life stages. Therefore, genes in the autonomous flowering-time pathway are likely tocontribute to genetic correlations between flowering and seed germination,possibly contributing to the winter-annual life history.