Flowering Initiation Genes Determine the Node for Inflorence-Ear in Zea Mays L.

The expression profile of key genes regulating flowering initiation (ID1, DLF1, ZCN6, ZCN7, and ZCN8) of Zea mays L. was determined in the leaf axils of the reproductive and adjacent nodes during the flowering initiation. The similarity of the inter-node dynamics of the ID1, DLF1, ZCN7, and ZCN8 gene expression was shown throughout the entire measurement period. It was determined that ~10 days before visual detection of the inflorescence meristem, the expression of the flowering activator genes ID1, DLF1, ZCN7, and ZCN8 significantly increased in the reproductive node compared to the adjacent nodes, while the flowering inhibitor gene ZCN6 expression decreased to trace values at all nodes.