Breeding of White Calla Lily ‘Swan’ with Early Flowering and Many Numbers of Flowers

The flowering time control gene of various sugar beet plants has been studied. The BTC1 gene is a regulator for the suppressor (flowering time 1) and inducer (flowering time 2) genes of this physiological process. The F9/R9 primer pair was used for polymerase chain reaction; these primers are specific to the BTC1 gene region containing exon 9, as well as intron and exon 10. For the first time, nucleotide substitutions in exon 10 of BTC1 gene were identified in bolting sensitive samples (HF1 and BF1), which led to a change in the amino acid composition of the coded polypeptide chain. Based on the results of bioinformatic analysis, it can be assumed that certain nucleotide polymorphisms in the BTC1 gene may determine with a high probability the predisposition of sugar beet genotypes to early flowering. The use of the Geneious Prime tool for the analysis of the BTC1 gene sequences may allow the culling of genotypes prone to early flowering at early stages of selection. sugar beet, flowering gene, BTC1, genetic polymorphism, PCR, molecular genetic markers, selection

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Actin-Related Protein 4 Interacts with PIE1 and Regulates Gene Expression in Arabidopsis

Genes ◽

10.3390/genes12040520 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (4) ◽

pp. 520

Author(s):

Wenfeng Nie ◽

Jinyu Wang

Keyword(s):

Gene Expression ◽

Plant Growth ◽

Chromatin Remodeling ◽

Leaf Size ◽

Early Flowering ◽

Physical Interaction ◽

Loss Of Function ◽

Single Nucleotide Change ◽

Chromatin Remodeling Complex ◽

Related Proteins

As essential structural components of ATP-dependent chromatin-remodeling complex, the nucleolus-localized actin-related proteins (ARPs) play critical roles in many biological processes. Among them, ARP4 is identified as an integral subunit of chromatin remodeling complex SWR1, which is conserved in yeast, humans and plants. It was shown that RNAi mediated knock-down of Arabidopsis thaliana ARP4 (AtARP4) could affect plant development, specifically, leading to early flowering. However, so far, little is known about how ARP4 functions in the SWR1 complex in plant. Here, we identified a loss-of-function mutant of AtARP4 with a single nucleotide change from glycine to arginine, which had significantly smaller leaf size. The results from the split luciferase complementation imaging (LCI) and yeast two hybrid (Y2H) assays confirmed its physical interaction with the scaffold and catalytic subunit of SWR1 complex, photoperiod-independent early flowering 1 (PIE1). Furthermore, mutation of AtARP4 caused altered transcription response of hundreds of genes, in which the number of up-regulated differentially expressed genes (DEGs) was much larger than those down-regulated. Although most DEGs in atarp4 are related to plant defense and response to hormones such as salicylic acid, overall, it has less overlapping with other swr1 mutants and the hta9 hta11 double-mutant. In conclusion, our results reveal that AtARP4 is important for plant growth and such an effect is likely attributed to its repression on gene expression, typically at defense-related loci, thus providing some evidence for the coordination of plant growth and defense, while the regulatory patterns and mechanisms are distinctive from other SWR1 complex components.

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Quantitative Control of Early Flowering in White Lupin (Lupinus albus L.)

International Journal of Molecular Sciences ◽

10.3390/ijms22083856 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 22 (8) ◽

pp. 3856

Author(s):

Sandra Rychel-Bielska ◽

Anna Surma ◽

Wojciech Bielski ◽

Bartosz Kozak ◽

Renata Galek ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Flowering Time ◽

Association Studies ◽

Lupinus Albus ◽

Genotypic Diversity ◽

Early Flowering ◽

White Lupin ◽

Genome Wide Association Studies ◽

Interacting Protein ◽

Major Qtls ◽

Lupinus Albus L

White lupin (Lupinus albus L.) is a pulse annual plant cultivated from the tropics to temperate regions for its high-protein grain as well as a cover crop or green manure. Wild populations are typically late flowering and have high vernalization requirements. Nevertheless, some early flowering and thermoneutral accessions were found in the Mediterranean basin. Recently, quantitative trait loci (QTLs) explaining flowering time variance were identified in bi-parental population mapping, however, phenotypic and genotypic diversity in the world collection has not been addressed yet. In this study, a diverse set of white lupin accessions (n = 160) was phenotyped for time to flowering in a controlled environment and genotyped with PCR-based markers (n = 50) tagging major QTLs and selected homologs of photoperiod and vernalization pathway genes. This survey highlighted quantitative control of flowering time in white lupin, providing statistically significant associations for all major QTLs and numerous regulatory genes, including white lupin homologs of CONSTANS, FLOWERING LOCUS T, FY, MOTHER OF FT AND TFL1, PHYTOCHROME INTERACTING FACTOR 4, SKI-INTERACTING PROTEIN 1, and VERNALIZATION INDEPENDENCE 3. This revealed the complexity of flowering control in white lupin, dispersed among numerous loci localized on several chromosomes, provided economic justification for future genome-wide association studies or genomic selection rather than relying on simple marker-assisted selection.

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Identification and characterization of regulatory pathways involved in early flowering in the new leaves of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) by transcriptome analysis

BMC Plant Biology ◽

10.1186/s12870-020-02775-9 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Dongmei Ma ◽

Bei Liu ◽

Lingqiao Ge ◽

Yinyin Weng ◽

Xiaohui Cao ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Medicago Sativa ◽

Secondary Metabolism ◽

Flowering Time ◽

Degradation Pathway ◽

Early Flowering ◽

Receptor Kinase ◽

Leucine Rich Repeat ◽

Kinase Family ◽

Pathogenesis Related ◽

Early Flowering Phenotype

Abstract Background Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is a perennial legume extensively planted throughout the world as a high nutritive value livestock forage. Flowering time is an important agronomic trait that contributes to the production of alfalfa hay and seeds. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms of flowering time regulation in alfalfa are not well understood. Results In this study, an early-flowering alfalfa genotype 80 and a late-flowering alfalfa genotype 195 were characterized for the flowering phenotype. Our analysis revealed that the lower jasmonate (JA) content in new leaves and the downregulation of JA biosynthetic genes (i.e. lipoxygenase, the 12-oxophytodienoate reductase-like protein, and salicylic acid carboxyl methyltransferase) may play essential roles in the early-flowering phenotype of genotype 80. Further research indicated that genes encode pathogenesis-related proteins [e.g. leucine rich repeat (LRR) family proteins, receptor-like proteins, and toll-interleukin-like receptor (TIR)-nucleotide-binding site (NBS)-LRR class proteins] and members of the signaling receptor kinase family [LRR proteins, kinases domain of unknown function 26 (DUF26) and wheat leucine-rich repeat receptor-like kinase10 (LRK10)-like kinases] are related to early flowering in alfalfa. Additionally, those involved in secondary metabolism (2-oxoglutarate/Fe (II)-dependent dioxygenases and UDP-glycosyltransferase) and the proteasome degradation pathway [really interesting new gene (RING)/U-box superfamily proteins and F-box family proteins] are also related to early flowering in alfalfa. Conclusions Integrated phenotypical, physiological, and transcriptomic analyses demonstrate that hormone biosynthesis and signaling pathways, pathogenesis-related genes, signaling receptor kinase family genes, secondary metabolism genes, and proteasome degradation pathway genes are responsible for the early flowering phenotype in alfalfa. This will provide new insights into future studies of flowering time in alfalfa and inform genetic improvement strategies for optimizing this important trait.

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Protective Role of Ice Barriers: How Reproductive Organs of Early Flowering and Mountain Plants Escape Frost Injuries

Plants ◽

10.3390/plants10051031 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (5) ◽

pp. 1031

Author(s):

Clara Bertel ◽

Jürgen Hacker ◽

Gilbert Neuner

Keyword(s):

Management Strategies ◽

Woody Species ◽

Reproductive Organs ◽

High Elevation ◽

Protective Role ◽

Early Spring ◽

Early Flowering ◽

Ice Formation ◽

Species Vulnerability ◽

Infrared Video

In the temperate zone of Europe, plants flowering in early spring or at high elevation risk that their reproductive organs are harmed by episodic frosts. Focusing on flowers of two mountain and three early-flowering colline to montane distributed species, vulnerability to ice formation and ice management strategies using infrared video thermography were investigated. Three species had ice susceptible flowers and structural ice barriers, between the vegetative and reproductive organs, that prevent ice entrance from the frozen stems. Structural ice barriers as found in Anemona nemorosa and Muscari sp. have not yet been described for herbaceous species that of Jasminum nudiflorum corroborates findings for woody species. Flowers of Galanthus nivalis and Scilla forbesii were ice tolerant. For all herbs, it became clear that the soil acts as a thermal insulator for frost susceptible below ground organs and as a thermal barrier against the spread of ice between individual flowers and leaves. Both ice barrier types presumably promote that the reproductive organs can remain supercooled, and can at least for a certain time-period escape from effects of ice formation. Both effects of ice barriers appear significant in the habitat of the tested species, where episodic freezing events potentially curtail the reproductive success.

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