The timing of the transition to flowering in plants is regulated by various environmental factors, including daylength and light quality. Although the red/far-red photoreceptor phytochrome B (phyB) represses flowering by indirectly regulating the expression of a key flowering regulator, FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT), the mechanism of phyB signaling for flowering is largely unknown. Here, we identified two Arabidopsis thaliana genes, VASCULAR PLANT ONE-ZINC FINGER1 (VOZ1) and VOZ2, which are highly conserved throughout land plant evolution, as phyB-interacting factors. voz1 voz2 double mutants, but neither single mutant, showed a late-flowering phenotype under long-day conditions, which indicated that VOZ1 and VOZ2 redundantly promote flowering. voz1 voz2 mutations suppressed the early-flowering phenotype of the phyB mutant, and FT expression was repressed in the voz1 voz2 mutant. Green fluorescent protein-VOZ2 signal was observed in the cytoplasm, and interaction of VOZ proteins with phyB was indicated to occur in the cytoplasm under far-red light. However, VOZ2 protein modified to localize constitutively in the nucleus promoted flowering. In addition, the stability of VOZ2 proteins in the nucleus was modulated by light quality in a phytochrome-dependent manner. We propose that partial translocation of VOZ proteins from the cytoplasm to the nucleus mediates the initial step of the phyB signal transduction pathway that regulates flowering.

In recent years, many hop varieties with unique aromas, so-called "flavor hops", have been bred and grown. Here, we investigated the effect of late-harvested hops using three flavor hop varieties; Furano Beauty, Furano Magical, and Cascade. The sample hops were harvested at different days after flowering (DAF): DAF 45 (normal harvest), DAF 65, DAF 75, and DAF 85. We measured the volatile thiols in sample cones. The results indicated that 4-methyl-4-sulfanylpentane-2-one contents showed almost no change or a slightly decrease with a delay in harvest, whereas 3-sulfanyl-4-methylpentan-1-ol (3S4MP) content in late-harvested samples increased several fold in comparison with normal-harvested samples. Additionally, 3S4MP contents in the beers brewed with DAF 65 samples were several times higher than those using DAF 45 ones. From these results, we propose a new method to control 3S4MP content in hop cones by changing its harvest date.

BACKGROUND Flavor hops (Humulus lupulus L.) are recognized as key raw materials that impart unique flavors to beer, especially in the emerging craft‐beer industry. In this study the sensory evaluation of hop cone aromas using hop water extract by boiling (HWEB) was applied to develop new flavor hop cultivars in a screening from tens of varieties and breeding lines. RESULTS The sensory scores of HWEB showed a significant correlation with polyfunctional thiol content in hop cones, including substances such as 4‐methyl‐4‐sulfunylpentan‐2‐one (4MSP) and 3‐sulfunyl‐4‐methylpentan‐1‐ol (3S4MP), which are known to be difficult to analyze mechanically. As a result of the sensory evaluation of HWEB, a breeding line, ‘K906901060’ was found to have a strong fruity note. Subsequent chemical analyses revealed that this cultivar had 80–136 μg kg−1 of 4MSP in its cones, which is similar to the concentration present in current leading flavor hop cultivars, such as Citra (37–114 μg kg−1) and Simcoe (2–112 μg kg−1). Beer late‐hopped with K906901060 provoked a greater tropical flavor impression than beer hopped using Nelson Sauvin hops. CONCLUSION The sensory evaluation of HWEB was indicated to be useful to search for hops containing polyfunctional thiols. The plant was registered, as ‘Furano K906901060 Go’ in Japan, in the EU, and in the USA, and the cultivar was given the commercial name ‘Furano Magical’. This cultivar was derived from a cross performed in 1989 and had been kept as a mid‐mother plant from 1997, until being selected in 2014, as described here. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.