Biology Researchers Find Plant Hormone Has Dual Role in Flower Formation

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have revealed that a plant hormone once believed to promote flower formation in annual plants also plays a role in inhibiting flowers from forming. The dual role of this hormone, gibberellin, could be exploited to produce higher-yielding crop plants. The findings were published in the journal Science.

The study was led by Professor of Biology and Graduate Chair Doris Wagner and postdoctoral researcher Nobutoshi Yamaguchi. Department co-authors included Cara M. Winter, GR'11; postdoc Miin-Feng Wu; and former postdoc Ayako Yamaguchi. The Penn team collaborated with Yuri Kanno and Mitsunori Seo of RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science in Japan.

The National Science Foundation supported the research.

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