Organism
Winter Wheat
TL;DR
Winter wheat demonstrates vernalization - a cold-sensing mechanism that ensures flowering only after winter.
Winter wheat demonstrates vernalization - a cold-sensing mechanism that ensures flowering only after winter. Planted in autumn, it germinates and grows a few inches before winter, then requires 4-8 weeks of cold (0-10°C) before it can flower. Without this cold exposure, it grows vegetatively all summer but produces no grain.
The mechanism involves epigenetic changes: cold triggers chemical tags that silence the FLOWERING LOCUS C repressor gene. This is a two-signal system requiring both vernalization (winter happened) and photoperiod (spring is here) to flower.
Notable Traits of Winter Wheat
- Requires vernalization (4-8 weeks cold)
- Two-signal flowering system
- Epigenetic gene silencing