Overexpression of a Brassica rapa MADS-box gene, BrAGL20, induces early flowering time phenotypes in Brassica napus

Agronomic characteristics of two groups of early flowering Brassica napus lines and their respective parents were compared at East Beverley in the Western Australian wheatbelt. These lines had been derived through two generations of backcrossing and subsequent selfing from crosses of the B. napus cultivar Wesbrook (recurrent parent) with an early flowering B. napus line RU2 and an even earlier flowering B. campestris population Chinoli C42. Lines selected for this experiment had flowered earliest in a previous controlled environment experiment. Only RU2 and one WesbrookxRU2 line (IB72) had significantly higher yields than Wesbrook (149% and 166% respectively), and one Wesbrookxchinoli C42 line was the only line to have a significantly lower yield than Wesbrook. None of the lines had significantly higher yields than their respective non-recurrent parents. Although RU2 and IB72 flowered much earlier than Wesbrook, there was no significant relationship between flowering time and seed yield over all lines. Lines which were the earliest to commence stem elongation tended to have higher seed yields. However, of all the growth and development characters measured, the biological yield and the dry weight increment between commencement of flowering and maturity were most closely related to seed yield. RU2 and IB72 accumulated far more dry matter over the post-anthesis period than Wesbrook and all other lines except another WesbrookxRU2 line. The superior post-anthesis growth of RU2 and IB72 may simply be a manifestation of the longer period available for growth under more favourable environmental conditions or deeper roots extracting more water from a greater depth. However, since there was no relationship between flowering time and the post-anthesis dry matter increment, it seems more likely that IB72 has received genes for superior post-anthesis growth as well as those determining early flowering from RU2. Given the rapid decline in soil moisture availability during post-anthesis development in this environment, these genes may affect post-anthesis growth through determining a greater capacity for drought avoidance. The implications of these results are discussed with particular reference to the breeding of higher yielding B. napus cultivars for lower rainfall environments.

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Overexpression of AGAMOUS-like gene PfAG5 promote early flowering in Polypogon fugax

10.21203/rs.3.rs-24143/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Fengyan Zhou ◽

Qin Yu ◽

Yong Zhang ◽

Chuan-Chun Yao ◽

Yun-Jing Han ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Flowering Time ◽

Herbicide Resistance ◽

Weed Management ◽

Early Flowering ◽

Regulation Mechanism ◽

Mads Box ◽

Weed Species ◽

Floral Organogenesis ◽

Seed Loss ◽

Large Populations

Abstract Background: Herbicides are the major tool for controlling large populations of yield depleting weeds. However, overreliance on herbicides has resulted in weed adaptation and herbicide resistance. In recent years, early flowering weed species related to herbicide resistance is emerging, which may cause seed loss before crop harvest, creating a new problem for non-chemical weed management. However, mechanisms regulating early flowering in weedy species is rarely investigated. Results: The MADS-box gene family plays an important role in flowering time regulation and floral organogenesis. In this study, a homolog gene of AGAMOUS sub-family (referred to as PfAG5) of the MADS-box family was cloned from plants of an early flowering Polypogon fugax population resistant to the ACCase inhibitor herbicide (clodinafop-propargyl). The PfAG5 gene was functionally characterized in Arabidopsis thaliana. Over-expression of the PfAG5 gene in Arabidopsis resulted in early flowering with abnormal flowers (e.g. small petals, short plants and reduced seed set) compared to the wild type. The expression of the PfAG5 gene was high in leaves and flowers, but low in pods in transgenic Arabidopsis. The PfAG5 gene was earlier and higher expressed in the resistant (R) than the susceptible (S) P. fugax plants. Furthermore, one protein (FRIGIDA-like protein) interacting with PfAG5 in R P. fugax was identified by the yeast two-hybrid system with relevance to flowering time regulation. Conclusions: These results suggest that the PfAG5 gene is prominently involved in modulating early flowering in P. fugax. This study provides the first evidence for the regulation mechanism of early flowering in an herbicide resistant weed species.

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Overriding photoperiod sensitivity of flowering time by constitutive expression of a MADS box gene

Journal of Plant Biology ◽

10.1007/bf03031033 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 43 (1) ◽

pp. 28-32 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Kyungsook An ◽

Gynheung An

Keyword(s):

Flowering Time ◽

Constitutive Expression ◽

Photoperiod Sensitivity ◽

Mads Box ◽

Mads Box Gene

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Overexpression of AGAMOUS-like gene PfAG5 promotes early flowering in Polypogon fugax

10.21203/rs.3.rs-24143/v2 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Fengyan Zhou ◽

Qin Yu ◽

Yong Zhang ◽

Chuan-Chun Yao ◽

Yun-Jing Han ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Flowering Time ◽

Herbicide Resistance ◽

Weed Management ◽

Early Flowering ◽

Regulation Mechanism ◽

Mads Box ◽

Weed Species ◽

Floral Organogenesis ◽

Seed Loss ◽

Large Populations

Abstract Background: Herbicides are the major tool for controlling large populations of yield depleting weeds. However, overreliance on herbicides has resulted in weed adaptation and herbicide resistance. In recent years, early flowering weed species related to herbicide resistance is emerging, which may cause seed loss before crop harvest, creating a new problem for non-chemical weed management. However, mechanisms regulating early flowering in weedy species is rarely investigated. Results: The MADS-box gene family plays an important role in flowering time regulation and floral organogenesis. In this study, a homolog gene of AGAMOUS sub-family (referred to as PfAG5) of the MADS-box family was cloned from plants of an early flowering Polypogon fugax population resistant to the ACCase inhibitor herbicide (clodinafop-propargyl). The PfAG5 gene was functionally characterized in Arabidopsis thaliana. Over-expression of the PfAG5 gene in Arabidopsis resulted in early flowering with abnormal flowers (e.g. small petals, short plants and reduced seed set) compared to the wild type. The expression of the PfAG5 gene was high in leaves and flowers, but low in pods in transgenic Arabidopsis. The PfAG5 gene was earlier and higher expressed in the resistant (R) than the susceptible (S) P. fugax plants. Furthermore, one protein (FRIGIDA-like protein) interacting with PfAG5 in R P. fugax was identified by the yeast two-hybrid system with relevance to flowering time regulation. Conclusions: These results suggest that the PfAG5 gene is involved in modulating early flowering in P. fugax. This study provides the first evidence for the regulation mechanism of early flowering in an herbicide resistant weed species.

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FRUITFULL-like genes regulate flowering time and inflorescence architecture in tomato

10.1101/2020.09.28.316562 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Xiaobing Jiang ◽

Greice Lubini ◽

José Hernandes-Lopes ◽

Kim Rijnsburger ◽

Vera Veltkamp ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Flowering Time ◽

Regulatory Networks ◽

Mads Box ◽

Inflorescence Meristem ◽

Cytokinin Signaling ◽

Inflorescence Architecture ◽

Mads Box Gene ◽

Gene Regulatory ◽

Transition To Flowering

ABSTRACTThe timing of flowering and inflorescence architecture are critical for the reproductive success of tomato, but the gene regulatory networks underlying these traits are still hardly explored. Here we show that the tomato FRUITFULL-like (FUL-like) genes FUL2 and MADS-BOX PROTEIN 20 (MBP20) induce flowering and repress inflorescence branching. FUL1 fulfils a less prominent role and appears to depend on FUL2 and MBP20 for its upregulation in the inflorescence meristem. Our results demonstrate that MBP10, the fourth tomato FUL-like gene, has probably lost its function. The tomato FUL-like proteins cannot homodimerize, but heterodimerize with JOINTLESS (J), SlMBP21 (J2), ENHANCER OF JOINTLESS (EJ2/MADS1) and the SOC1-homolog TOMATO MADS-box gene 3 (TM3), which are co-expressed during inflorescence meristem maturation. Transcriptome analysis revealed various interesting downstream targets, including five repressors of cytokinin signaling, which are all upregulated during the vegetative-to-reproductive transition in ful1/ful2/mbp10/mbp20 mutants. FUL2 and MBP20 can also bind in vitro to the upstream regions of these genes, thereby probably directly stimulating cell division in the meristem upon the transition to flowering. Our research reveals that the four tomato FUL-like genes have diverged functions, but together regulate the important developmental processes flowering time, inflorescence architecture and fruit development.

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Isolation and characterization of a MADS-box gene in cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) that affects flowering time and leaf morphology in transgenic Arabidopsis

Biotechnology & Biotechnological Equipment ◽

10.1080/13102818.2018.1534556 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 33 (1) ◽

pp. 54-63 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Yong Zhou ◽

Lifang Hu ◽

Jianbo Song ◽

Lunwei Jiang ◽

Shiqiang Liu

Keyword(s):

Flowering Time ◽

Cucumis Sativus ◽

Leaf Morphology ◽

Transgenic Arabidopsis ◽

Mads Box ◽

Cucumis Sativus L ◽

Isolation And Characterization ◽

Mads Box Gene

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Comparison of Flowering Time Genes in Brassica rapa, B. napus and Arabidopsis thaliana

Genetics ◽

10.1093/genetics/146.3.1123 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 146 (3) ◽

pp. 1123-1129 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

T C Osborn ◽

C Kole ◽

I A P Parkin ◽

A G Sharpe ◽

M Kuiper ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Arabidopsis Thaliana ◽

Brassica Napus ◽

Quantitative Trait Loci ◽

Flowering Time ◽

Brassica Rapa ◽

Quantitative Trait ◽

Chromosome 4 ◽

Chromosome 5 ◽

Major Qtls ◽

Segregating Population

The major difference between annual and biennial cultivars of oilseed Brassica napus and B. rapa is conferred by genes controlling vernalization-responsive flowering time. These genes were compared between the species by aligning the map positions of flowering time quantitative trait loci (QTLs) detected in a segregating population of each species. The results suggest that two major QTLs identified in B. rapa correspond to two major QTLs identified in B. napus. Since B. rapa is one of the hypothesized diploid parents of the amphidiploid B. napus, the vernalization requirement of B. napus probably originated from B. rapa. Brassica genes also were compared to flowering time genes in Arabidopsis thaliana by mapping RFLP loci with the same probes in both B. napus and Arabidopsis. The region containing one pair of Brassica QTLs was collinear with the top of chromosome 5 in A. thaliana where flowering time genes FLC, FY and CO are located. The region containing the second pair of QTLs showed fractured collinearity with several regions of the Arabidopsis genome, including the top of chromosome 4 where FRI is located. Thus, these Brassica genes may correspond to two genes (FLC and FRI) that regulate flowering time in the latest flowering ecotypes of Arabidopsis.

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Yield improvement of oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) in a low rainfall environment. I. Utilization of genes for early flowering in primary and secondary gene pools

Australian Journal of Agricultural Research ◽

10.1071/ar9920609 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 43 (3) ◽

pp. 609 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

N Thurling ◽

R Kaveeta

Keyword(s):

Brassica Napus ◽

Chromosome Number ◽

Flowering Time ◽

Chromosome Complement ◽

Early Flowering ◽

Gene Pools ◽

Yield Improvement ◽

Two Generations ◽

The Cross ◽

Recurrent Backcrossing

The extent to which time to flowering of a Brassica napus commercial cultivar could be reduced through utilization of genes in its primary and secondary pools was examined with particular reference to yield improvement in lower rainfall environments. The B. napus breeding line RU2 and the B. campestris population Chinoli C42, which were used as sources of early flowering genes to be incorporated into the commercial B. napus cultivar Wesbrook, flowered significantly earlier than Wesbrook with or without vernalization and/or long days. In the cross of Wesbrook with RU2, the substantial variation in flowering time in the F2 was highly heritable (hn2 = 0.79), and some plants in the F2 and first backcross to Wesbrook flowered earlier than the early flowering parent RU2. Many lines flowering much earlier than Wesbrook were still obtained after two generations of recurrent backcrossing to Wesbrook and subsequent selfing without selection at any stage. Variation in flowering time among these lines primarily reflected differences in growth rate as measured by the rate of leaf node development. F2 plants derived from the cross between Wesbrook and the B. campestris population Chinoli C42 varied widely in chromosome number and flowering time, but there was no relationship between pre-anthesis development and chromosome number. Two generations of recurrent backcrossing to Wesbrook and subsequent selfing without selection at any stage produced a series of lines all having the normal B. napus chromosome complement. All these lines flowered significantly earlier than Wesbrook, and the earliest flowering line flowered at the same time as the early flowering B. campestris parent. The implications of these results are discussed with particular reference to developing agronomically superior B. napus cultivars closely adapted to lower rainfall environments in the Western Australian wheatbelt and elsewhere in southern Australia.

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Comprehensive Analysis of Five Phyllostachys edulis SQUA-like Genes and Their Potential Functions in Flower Development

International Journal of Molecular Sciences ◽

10.3390/ijms221910868 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 22 (19) ◽

pp. 10868

Author(s):

Yuting Zhang ◽

Junhong Zhang ◽

Minyan Song ◽

Xinchun Lin ◽

Zaikang Tong ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Flowering Time ◽

Molecular Mechanisms ◽

Protein Complexes ◽

Expression Patterns ◽

Early Flowering ◽

Amino Acid Sequence Similarity ◽

Mads Box ◽

Phyllostachys Edulis ◽

Juvenile Phase ◽

Organ Identity

Bamboo is one of the most important non-timber forest resources worldwide. It has considerable economic value and unique flowering characteristics. The long juvenile phase in bamboo and unpredictable flowering time limit breeding and genetic improvement and seriously affect the productivity and application of bamboo forests. Members of SQUA-like subfamily genes play an essential role in controlling flowering time and floral organ identity. A comprehensive study was conducted to explain the functions of five SQUA-like subfamily genes in Phyllostachys edulis. Expression analysis revealed that all PeSQUAs have higher transcript levels in the reproductive period than in the juvenile phase. However, PeSQUAs showed divergent expression patterns during inflorescence development. The protein–protein interaction (PPI) patterns among PeSQUAs and other MADS-box members were analyzed by yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) experiments. Consistent with amino acid sequence similarity and phylogenetic analysis, the PPI patterns clustered into two groups. PeMADS2, 13, and 41 interacted with multiple PeMADS proteins, whereas PeMADS3 and 28 hardly interacted with other proteins. Based on our results, PeSQUA might possess different functions by forming protein complexes with other MADS-box proteins at different flowering stages. Furthermore, we chose PeMADS2 for functional analysis. Ectopic expression of PeMADS2 in Arabidopsis and rice caused early flowering, and abnormal phenotype was observed in transgenic Arabidopsis lines. RNA-seq analysis indicated that PeMADS2 integrated multiple pathways regulating floral transition to trigger early flowering time in rice. This function might be due to the interaction between PeMADS2 and homologous in rice. Therefore, we concluded that the five SQUA-like genes showed functional conservation and divergence based on sequence differences and were involved in floral transitions by forming protein complexes in P. edulis. The MADS-box protein complex model obtained in the current study will provide crucial insights into the molecular mechanisms of bamboo’s unique flowering characteristics.

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