The FLOWERING LOCUS T LIKE 2-1 gene of Chenopodium triggers precocious flowering in Arabidopsis seedlings

0575663 - ÚEB 2024 RIV GB eng J - Journal Article
Abeyawardana, Oushadee A.J. - Moravec, Tomáš - Krüger, Manuela - Belz, Claudia - Gutiérrez-Larruscain, David - Vondráková, Zuzana - Eliášová, Kateřina - Štorchová, Helena
The FLOWERING LOCUS T LIKE 2-1 gene of Chenopodium triggers precocious flowering in Arabidopsis seedlings.
Plant Signaling & Behavior. Roč. 18, č. 1 (2023), s. 2239420. ISSN 1559-2316. E-ISSN 1559-2324
R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA19-01639S
Institutional support: RVO:61389030
Keywords : Chenopodium * floral induction * flowering * FLOWERING LOCUS T like genes * lethality
OECD category: Plant sciences, botany
Impact factor: 2.9, year: 2022
Method of publishing: Open access
https://doi.org/10.1080/15592324.2023.2239420

The FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) gene is the essential integrator of flowering regulatory pathways in angiosperms. The paralogs of the FT gene may perform antagonistic functions, as exemplified by BvFT1, that suppresses flowering in Beta vulgaris, unlike the paralogous activator BvFT2. The roles of FT genes in other amaranths were less investigated. Here, we transformed Arabidopsis thaliana with the FLOWERING LOCUS T like (FTL) genes of Chenopodium ficifolium and found that both CfFTL1 and CfFTL2-1 accelerated flowering, despite having been the homologs of the Beta vulgaris floral promoter and suppressor, respectively. The floral promotive effect of CfFTL2-1 was so strong that it caused lethality when overexpressed under the 35S promoter. CfFTL2-1 placed in an inducible cassette accelerated flowering after induction with methoxyphenozide. The spontaneous induction of CfFTL2-1 led to precocious flowering in some primary transformants even without chemical induction. The CqFT2-1 homolog from Chenopodium quinoa had the same impact on viability and flowering as CfFTL2-1 when transferred to A. thaliana. After the FTL gene duplication in Amaranthaceae, the FTL1 copy maintained the role of floral activator. The second copy FTL2 underwent subsequent duplication and functional diversification, which enabled it to control the onset of flowering in amaranths to adapt to variable environments.
Permanent Link: https://hdl.handle.net/11104/0345420