Yasuyuki Takahashi

Rice is a facultative short-day plant, and molecular genetic studies have identified the major genes involved in short-day flowering. However, the molecular mechanisms promoting the diversity of flowering time in cultivated rice are not known. We used a core collection of 64 rice cultivars that represent the genetic diversity of 332 accessions from around the world and studied the expression levels and polymorphisms of 6 genes in the short-day flowering pathway. The RNA levels of Heading date 3a ( Hd3a ), encoding a floral activator, are highly correlated with flowering time, and there is a high degree of polymorphism in the Heading date 1 (Hd1) protein, which is a major regulator of Hd3a expression. Functional and nonfunctional alleles of Hd1 are associated with early and late flowering, respectively, suggesting that Hd1 is a major determinant of variation in flowering time of cultivated rice. We also found that the type of Hd3a promoter and the level of Ehd1 expression contribute to the diversity in flowering time and Hd3a expression level. We evaluated the contributions of these 3 factors by a statistical analysis using a simple linear model, and the results supported our experimental observations.

Abstract Three triphenyl benzene derivatives of 1,3,5‐tri( m ‐pyrid‐2‐yl‐phenyl)benzene (Tm2PyPB), 1,3,5‐tri( m ‐pyrid‐3‐yl‐phenyl)benzene (Tm3PyPB) and 1,3,5‐tri( m ‐pyrid‐4‐yl‐phenyl)benzene (Tm4PyPB), containing pyridine rings at the periphery, are developed as electron‐transport and hole/exciton‐blocking materials for iridium(III) bis(4,6‐(di‐fluorophenyl)pyridinato‐ N , C 2′ )picolinate (FIrpic)‐based blue phosphorescent organic light‐emitting devices. Their highest occupied molecular orbital and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) energy levels decrease as the nitrogen atom of the pyridine ring moves from position 2 to 3 and 4; this is supported by both experimental results and density functional theory calculations, and gives improved electron‐injection and hole‐blocking properties. They exhibit a high electron mobility of 10 −4 –10 −3 cm 2 V −1 s −1 and a high triplet energy level of 2.75 eV. Confinement of FIrpic triplet excitons is strongly dependent on the nitrogen atom position of the pyridine ring. The second exponential decay component in the transient photoluminescence decays of Firpic‐doped films also decreases when the position of the nitrogen atom in the pyridine ring changes. Reduced driving voltages are obtained when the nitrogen atom position changes because of improved electron injection as a result of the reduced LUMO level, but a better carrier balance is achieved for the Tm3PyPB‐based device. An external quantum efficiency (EQE) over 93% of maximum EQE was achieved for the Tm4PyPB‐based device at an illumination‐relevant luminance of 1000 cd m −2 , indicating reduced efficiency roll‐off due to better confinement of FIrpic triplet excitons by Tm4PyPB in contrast to Tm2PyPB and Tm3PyPB.

Plants detect changes in day length to induce seasonal patterns of flowering. The photoperiodic pathway accelerates the flowering of Arabidopsis thaliana under long days (LDs) whereas it is inactive under short days (SDs), resulting in delayed flowering. This delay is overcome by exposure of plants to high temperature (27°C) under SDs (27°C-SD). Previously, the high-temperature flowering response was proposed to involve either the impaired activity of MADS-box transcription factor (TF) floral repressors or PHYTOCHROME-INTERACTING FACTOR 4 (PIF4) TF-mediated activation of FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT), which encodes the output signal of the photoperiodic pathway. We integrate these observations by studying several PIFs, the MADS-box SHORT VEGETATIVE PHASE (SVP) and the photoperiodic pathway under 27°C-SD. We find that the mRNAs of FT and its paralogue TWIN SISTER OF FT (TSF) are increased at dusk under 27°C-SD compared with 21°C-SD, and that this requires PIF4 and PIF5 as well as CONSTANS (CO), a TF that promotes flowering under LDs. The CO and PIF4 proteins are present at dusk under 27°C-SD, and they physically interact. Although Col-0 plants flower at similar times under 27°C-SD and 21°C-LD the expression level of FT is approximately 10-fold higher under 21°C-LD, suggesting that responsiveness to FT is also increased under 27°C-SD, perhaps as a result of the reduced activity of SVP in the meristem. Accordingly, only svp-41 ft-10 tsf-1 plants flowered at the same time under 21°C-SD and 27°C-SD. Thus, we propose that under non-inductive SDs, elevated temperatures increase the activity and sensitize the response to the photoperiod pathway.