Flowering Locus C (''FLC'') is a

MADS-box The MADS box is a conserved sequence motif. The genes which contain this motif are called the MADS-box gene family. The MADS box encodes the DNA-binding MADS domain. The MADS domain binds to DNA sequences of high similarity to the motif CC /Tsub>6G ...

gene that in late-flowering ecotypes of the plant '' Arabidopsis thaliana'' is responsible for

vernalization Vernalization (from Latin ''vernus'', "of the spring") is the induction of a plant's flowering process by exposure to the prolonged cold of winter, or by an artificial equivalent. After vernalization, plants have acquired the ability to flower, ...

. In a new seedling ''FLC'' is expressed, which prevents flowering. Upon exposure to cold, less ''FLC'' is expressed (to a degree depending on the amount of cold), and flowering becomes possible. ''FLC'' is extensively regulated through epigenetic modifications and transcriptional control. The expression of ''FLC'' is affected by other genes including '' FLK'', '' FCA'' and '' VERNALIZATION2'' (''VRN2''). Wild ''Arabidopsis'' plants have different

allele An allele (, ; ; modern formation from Greek ἄλλος ''állos'', "other") is a variation of the same sequence of nucleotides at the same place on a long DNA molecule, as described in leading textbooks on genetics and evolution. ::"The chro ...

s for the ''FLC'' gene, which correspond to ecotypes which either (a) flower rapidly and produce a number of generations during one summer (''summer-annual''), or (b) flower only after vernalization (''winter-annual'' or ''late-flowering''). This kind of variation can also be provided by variation in the '' FRIGIDA'' (''FRI'') gene.

References

Arabidopsis thaliana genes Plant physiology {{botany-stub