O-GlcNAc and phosphorylation modifications on HtL1/FBA10 regulate wheat vernalization for flowering Yang, Pengfang Liu, Yangyang Dong, Qi Miao, Yuting Zhang, Jianlong Xu, Shujuan Zhao, Hong Niu, Yuda Zhang, Xueyong Xu, Yunyuan Guo, Zifeng Xing, Lijing Chong, Kang ddc:580 Vernalization-regulated flowering is vital for wheat yield and geographical distribution, and the diversity of flowering time genes is essential for the breeding of climate-resilient varieties. Sugars have long been recognized in regulating flowering; however, the intrinsic connection between carbohydrate metabolism and vernalization response remains largely unexplored. Here, we identify a fructose 1,6-bisphosphate aldolase (FBA) encoding gene, HtL1/FBA10, as a modulator of heading time variation based on a genome-wide association study utilizing wheat core germplasm collections. Evolutionary analysis shows a decrease in the proportion of haplotype-2 of HtL1, which is linked to delayed flowering, in Chinese and American wheat varieties compared to landraces. Vernalization reduces HtL1/FBA10 phosphorylation levels and increases its O-GlcNAcylation, which in turn enhances its enzymatic activity and facilitates VERNALIZATION 1 (VRN1) transcription by regulating histone acetylation at the VRN1 locus. Our findings provide mechanistic insights into the interplay between glucose metabolism and the epigenetic regulation of vernalization in winter wheat. Springer Nature 2026 info:eu-repo/semantics/article doc-type:article text http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_2df8fbb1 https://research-explorer.ista.ac.at/record/21158 https://research-explorer.ista.ac.at/download/21158/21223 Yang P, Liu Y, Dong Q, et al. O-GlcNAc and phosphorylation modifications on HtL1/FBA10 regulate wheat vernalization for flowering. <i>Nature Communications</i>. 2026;17. doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-67734-0">10.1038/s41467-025-67734-0</a> eng info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1038/s41467-025-67734-0 info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/e-issn/2041-1723 info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/pmid/41455723 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess