Fig. 1.

A simplified model for the hypothesized role of the Evening Complex in photoperiodism. In long nights, functional Evening Complex proteins accumulate, increasing the suppression of their target genes. For short-day plants, such as rice, the Evening Complex suppresses floral repressors, resulting in increased florigen synthesis and accelerated flowering. For long-day plants, such as wheat, the Evening Complex suppresses floral activators, resulting in reduced florigen synthesis and delayed flowering. In short nights, the levels of functional Evening Complex proteins are much lower, resulting in the inverse response.