Accumulating evidence supports a role for members of the plant Nuclear Factor Y (NF-Y) family of CCAAT-box binding transcription factors in the regulation of flowering time. In this study we have used a genetic approach to show that the homologous proteins NF-YB3 and NF-YB2 have comparable activities and play additive roles in the promotion of flowering, specifically under inductive photoperiodic conditions. We demonstrate that NF-YB2 and NF-YB3 are both essential for the normal induction of flowering by long-days and act through regulation of the expression of FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT). Using an ELISA-based in-vitro assay, we provide a novel demonstration that plant NF-YB subunits are capable of directly binding to a CCAAT-box containing region of the FLOWERING LOCUS T promoter as part of an NF-Y trimer in combination with the yeast HAP2 and HAP5 subunits. These results support an emerging model in which NF-Y complexes provide a component of the DNA target specificity for transcriptional regulators such as CONSTANS.

• PMID: 18600346
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Journal Article

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Kumimoto RW, Adam L, Hymus GJ, Repetti PP, Reuber TL, Marion CM, Hempel FD, Ratcliffe OJ

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