We have extracted from the literature that the role of vernalization on FLM expression is rather unclear. Ratcliffe et al. (2001, Plant Phys.) observed decreased FLM levels after six to eight weeks of vernalization, even though FLM seems not to be as strongly repressed by vernalization as FLC. Scortecci et al. (2001, Plant Journal) did not find an effect on FLM transcript abundance after 30 days of vernalization. However, this observation was revisited in Sung et al. (2006, Genes and Development), who showed that FLM is repressed by vernalization through epigenetic mechanisms. Finally, Lee et al. (2013, Science) did not observe any effect of vernalization on FLM abundance whereby no information on the duration of the vernalization treatment was provided. Even though a repressive effect of vernalization on FLM abundance seems to be the consensus we suppose that the effect of vernalization on FLM abundance needs much more detailed investigation. Especially the duration of vernalization may be a critical factor. We had summarized this literature and findings in our original manuscript. Since we now present an improved analysis based on improved experimental design as described below, we have deleted the respective sections since they were no longer relevant.