The meristem identity regulator LEAFY (LFY) is crucial for the switch from vegetative growth to flower development in plants. Two downstream targets of LFY are known in this pathway - APETELA1 and CAULIFLOWER(CAL) - but the rest of the regulatory cascade is poorly understood. Doris Wagner recently identified five new LFY targets; now her group has found that one of these - LATE MERISTEM IDENTITY 1 (LMI1) - is a meristem identity regulator (p. 1673). lmi1 mutants enhance the phenotype of a weak lfy mutant,abolishing CAL induction; moreover, LMI1 binds to the CALpromoter, indicating that LMI1 activates CAL directly. This interaction between LFY, LMI1 and CAL resembles a transcriptional network motif called a feed-forward loop: LFY activates LMI1, then both activate CAL. The authors explain how this feed-forward loop might ensure that the switch to reproductive development does not respond to transient environmental changes. LMI1 also has LFY-independent roles in leaf development and in leaflet and bract suppression; the authors suggest possible targets of this LMI1 function.
LEAFY feeds forwards
LEAFY feeds forwards. Development 1 May 2006; 133 (9): e902. doi:
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