FLOWERING HTH1 is involved in CONSTANS-mediated flowering regulation in Arabidopsis

Abstract Flowering at the right time is essential for maximum reproductive fitness. In Arabidopsis thaliana , the CONSTANS (CO) protein facilitates the transition from the vegetative phase to the reproductive phase under long-day conditions. The formation of heterodimeric complexes between CO and DNA binding domain-containing transcription factors is important for the induction of day length-dependent flowering. Here, we report a myb-like helix turn helix (HTH) transcriptional regulator family protein as a new modulator of floral transition, which we have named FLOWERING HTH1 (FHTH1). We isolated FHTH1 as a CO-interacting protein by a yeast two-hybrid screen using an Arabidopsis transcription factor library. Our analysis showed that FHTH1 presented in the nucleus and the FHTH1-CO complex was formed in the same subcellular location. We also observed the expression of a FHTH1:GUS construct in the leaf vasculature, where CO exists. Transgenic plants overexpressing FHTH1 fused with the plant-specific repression domain SRDX showed a delayed flowering phenotype in long days, resembling the phenotype of the co mutant. Our results suggest that FHTH1 may contribute to CO-mediated photoperiodic flowering regulation.