Molecular basis of heading date control in rice.

Flowering time is of great significance for crop reproduction, yield, and regional adaptability, which is intricately regulated by various environmental cues and endogenous signals. Genetic approaches in Arabidopsis have revealed the elaborate underlying mechanisms of sensing the dynamic change of photoperiod via a coincidence between light signaling and circadian clock, the cellular time keeping system, to precisely control photoperiodic flowering time, and many other signaling pathways including internal hormones and external temperature cues. Extensive studies in rice ( Oryza sativa. ), one of the short-day plants (SDP), have uncovered the multiple major genetic components in regulating heading date, and revealed the underlying mechanisms for regulating heading date. Here we summarize the current progresses on the molecular basis for rice heading date control, especially focusing on the integration mechanism between photoperiod and circadian clock, and epigenetic regulation and heading procedures in response to abiotic stresses.