Seminars

The transition from vegetative growth to flower formation is critical for the survival of flowering plants. The plant-specific transcription factor LEAFY (LFY) has central, evolutionarily conserved roles in this process, both in the formation of the first flower during the meristem identity (MI) transition and later in flower patterning. Our combined genome-wide binding and expression studies uncover largely distinct functions for direct LFY target genes at these two stages and reveal that LFY directly controls the expression of genes regulating the response to external stimuli in Arabidopsis. Moreover, LFY can modulate basal defense responses to a bacterial flagellin peptide, Flg22. Our findings suggest a molecular mechanism for the coordination of reproductive stage development and disease response programs in plants.