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21 pages, 5284 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Expression Profiling of Four Mango FT/TFL1-Encoding Genes under Different Fruit Load Conditions, and Their Involvement in Flowering Regulation

by Itamar Gafni, Avinash Chandra Rai, Eyal Halon, Tali Zviran, Isaac Sisai, Alon Samach and Vered Irihimovitch

Plants 2022, 11(18), 2409; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11182409 - 15 Sep 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2085

Abstract

Plant flowering is antagonistically modulated by similar FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) and TERMINAL FLOWER 1 (TFL1) proteins. In mango (Mangifera indica L.), flowering is induced by cold temperatures, unless the tree is juvenile or the adult tree had a high fruit load [...] Read more.

Plant flowering is antagonistically modulated by similar FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) and TERMINAL FLOWER 1 (TFL1) proteins. In mango (Mangifera indica L.), flowering is induced by cold temperatures, unless the tree is juvenile or the adult tree had a high fruit load (HFL) in the summer. Here, we studied the effects of juvenility and fruit load on the expression of four MiFT/TFL1 genes cloned from the mango ‘Shelly’ cultivar. Ectopic expression of MiFT1 in Arabidopsis resulted in early flowering, whereas over-expression of MiFT2 and the two cloned MiTFL1 genes repressed flowering. Moreover, juvenility was positively correlated with higher transcript levels of MiFT2 and both MiTFL1s. In trees with a low fruit load, leaf MiFT1 expression increased in winter, whereas HFL delayed its upregulation. MiFT2 expression was upregulated in both leaves and buds under both fruit load conditions. Downregulation of both MITFL1s in buds was associated with a decrease in regional temperatures under both conditions; nevertheless, HFL delayed the decrease in their accumulation. Our results suggest that cold temperature has opposite effects on the expression of MiFT1 and the MiTFL1s, thereby inducing flowering, whereas HFL represses flowering by both suppressing MiFT1 upregulation and delaying MiTFL1s downregulation. The apparent flowering-inhibitory functions of MiFT2 are discussed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Control of Flowering Time and Their Environmental Regulation in Crops)

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10 pages, 838 KiB

Open AccessCommunication

Vernalization Requirement, but Not Post-Vernalization Day Length, Conditions Flowering in Carrot (Daucus carota L.)

by Josefina Wohlfeiler, María Soledad Alessandro, Andrés Morales, Pablo Federico Cavagnaro and Claudio Rómulo Galmarini

Plants 2022, 11(8), 1075; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11081075 - 15 Apr 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1906

Abstract

Carrots require a certain number of cold hours to become vernalized and proceed to the reproductive stage, and this phenomenon is genotype-dependent. Annual carrots require less cold than biennials to flower; however, quantitative variation within annuals and biennials also exists, defining a gradient [...] Read more.

Carrots require a certain number of cold hours to become vernalized and proceed to the reproductive stage, and this phenomenon is genotype-dependent. Annual carrots require less cold than biennials to flower; however, quantitative variation within annuals and biennials also exists, defining a gradient for vernalization requirement (VR). The flowering response of carrots to day length, after vernalization has occurred, is controversial. This vegetable has been described both as a long-day and a neutral-day species. The objective of this study was to evaluate flowering time and frequency in response to different cold treatments and photoperiod regimes in various carrot genotypes. To this end, three annual genotypes from India, Brazil, and Pakistan, and a biennial carrot from Japan, were exposed to 7.5 °C during 30, 60, 90, or 120 days, and then transferred to either long day (LD) or short day (SD) conditions. Significant variation (p < 0.05) among the carrot genotypes and among cold treatments were found, with increased flowering rates and earlier onset of flowering being associated with longer cold exposures. No significant differences in response to photoperiod were found, suggesting that post-vernalization day length does not influence carrot flowering. These findings will likely impact carrot breeding and production of both root and seed, helping in the selection of adequate genotypes and sowing dates to manage cold exposure and day-length for different production purposes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Control of Flowering Time and Their Environmental Regulation in Crops)

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10 pages, 1305 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Photoperiod Affects Node Appearance Rate and Flowering in Early Maturing Soybean

by Nathaniel W. W. Ort, Malcolm J. Morrison, Elroy R. Cober, Bahram Samanfar and Yvonne E. Lawley

Plants 2022, 11(7), 871; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11070871 - 24 Mar 2022

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 1762

Abstract

The photoperiod plays a critical role in the control of flowering timing in soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) with long days increasing the time to flowering. Early flowering cultivars have been developed from breeding programs for environments with long photoperiods; however, this [...] Read more.

The photoperiod plays a critical role in the control of flowering timing in soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) with long days increasing the time to flowering. Early flowering cultivars have been developed from breeding programs for environments with long photoperiods; however, this effect is challenging to isolate in field experiments because of other environmental influences. Our experiment examined the effect of photoperiod on the node appearance rate and time to flower for 13 early maturing soybean cultivars ranging in maturity group (MG) between 000.9 and 1.3. Growth chambers were programmed to 14, 15, 16, and 17 h photoperiods and temperature was kept at 25 °C. The date of emergence and main stem node appearance were recorded until flowering. The node appearance rate was slowest for the first node and increased thereafter. All cultivars required more time to flowering in the longer photoperiod treatments and the later rated MG had the greatest sensitivity to photoperiod. A delay in time to flower from a longer photoperiod can delay maturity and expose the crop to fall frost that can reduce seed yield and quality. Understanding and documentation of soybean photoperiod sensitivity will help plant breeders develop suitable cultivars for environments with long photoperiods. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Control of Flowering Time and Their Environmental Regulation in Crops)

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21 pages, 2103 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Transcriptomic Analysis of Early Flowering Signals in ‘Royal’ Flax

by Megan A. House, Lester W. Young, Stephen J. Robinson and Helen M. Booker

Plants 2022, 11(7), 860; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11070860 - 24 Mar 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1877

Abstract

Canada is one of the world’s leading producers and exporters of flax seed, with most production occurring in the Prairie Provinces. However, reduced season length and risk of frost restricts production in the northern grain belt of the Canadian Prairies. To expand the [...] Read more.

Canada is one of the world’s leading producers and exporters of flax seed, with most production occurring in the Prairie Provinces. However, reduced season length and risk of frost restricts production in the northern grain belt of the Canadian Prairies. To expand the growing region of flax and increase production in Canada, flax breeders need to develop earlier-flowering varieties capable of avoiding the risk of abiotic stress. A thorough understanding of flowering control of flax is essential for the efficient breeding of such lines. We identified 722 putative flax flowering genes that span all major flowering-time pathways. Frequently, we found multiple flax homologues for a single Arabidopsis flowering gene. We used RNA sequencing to quantify the expression of genes in the shoot apical meristem (SAM) at 10, 15, 19, and 29 days after planting (dap) using the ‘Royal’ cultivar. We observed the expression of 80% of putative flax flowering genes and the differential expression of only 30%; these included homologues of major flowering regulators, such as SOC1, FUL, and AP1. We also found enrichment of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in transcription factor (TF) families involved in flowering. Finally, we identified the candidates’ novel flowering genes amongst the uncharacterized flax genes. Our transcriptomic dataset provides a useful resource for investigating the regulatory control of the transition to flowering in flax and for the breeding of northern-adapted varieties. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Control of Flowering Time and Their Environmental Regulation in Crops)

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11 pages, 2533 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Identification and Functional Characterization of FLOWERING LOCUS T in Platycodon grandiflorus

by Gayeon Kim, Yeonggil Rim, Hyunwoo Cho and Tae Kyung Hyun

Plants 2022, 11(3), 325; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11030325 - 26 Jan 2022

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2801

Abstract

Platycodon grandiflorus roots have been used as a foodstuff and traditional medicine for thousands of years in East Asia. In order to increase the root development of P. grandiflorus, cultivators removed the inflorescences, suggesting the possible negative effect of flowering on [...] Read more.

Platycodon grandiflorus roots have been used as a foodstuff and traditional medicine for thousands of years in East Asia. In order to increase the root development of P. grandiflorus, cultivators removed the inflorescences, suggesting the possible negative effect of flowering on root development. This indicates that the genetic improvement of P. grandiflorus by late flowering is a potential approach to increase productivity. However, nothing is known about key genes integrating multiple flowering pathways in P. grandiflorus. In order to fill this gap, we identified potential homologs of the FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) gene in P. grandiflorus. The alignment with other FT members and phylogenetic analysis revealed that the P. grandiflorus FT (PlgFT) protein contains highly conserved functional domains and belongs to the FT-like clade. The expression analysis revealed spatial variations in the transcription of PlgFT in different organs. In addition, the expression level of PlgFT was increased by high temperature but not by photoperiodic light input signals, presumably due to lacking the CONSTANS binding motif in its promoter region. Furthermore, PlgFT induced early flowering upon its overexpression in P. grandiflorus, suggesting the functional role of PlgFT in flowering. Taken together, we functionally characterized PlgFT as a master regulator of P. grandiflorus flowering under inductive high temperature, which will serve as an important target gene for improving the root productivity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Control of Flowering Time and Their Environmental Regulation in Crops)

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21 pages, 3848 KiB

Open AccessArticle

SNP- and Haplotype-Based GWAS of Flowering-Related Traits in Brassica napus

by MMU Helal, Rafaqat Ali Gill, Minqiang Tang, Li Yang, Ming Hu, Lingli Yang, Meili Xie, Chuanji Zhao, Xiaohui Cheng, Yuanyuan Zhang, Xiong Zhang and Shengyi Liu

Plants 2021, 10(11), 2475; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10112475 - 16 Nov 2021

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 3559

Abstract

Traits related to flowering time are the most promising agronomic traits that directly impact the seed yield and oil quality of rapeseed (Brassica napus L.). Developing early flowering and maturity rapeseed varieties is an important breeding objective in B. napus. Many [...] Read more.

Traits related to flowering time are the most promising agronomic traits that directly impact the seed yield and oil quality of rapeseed (Brassica napus L.). Developing early flowering and maturity rapeseed varieties is an important breeding objective in B. napus. Many studies have reported on days to flowering, but few have reported on budding, bolting, and the interval between bolting and DTF. Therefore, elucidating the genetic architecture of QTLs and genes regulating flowering time, we presented an integrated investigation on SNP and haplotype-based genome-wide association study of 373 diverse B. napus germplasm, which were genotyped by the 60K SNP array and were phenotyped in the four environments. The results showed that a total of 15 and 37 QTLs were detected from SNP and haplotype-based GWAS, respectively. Among them, seven QTL clusters were identified by haplotype-based GWAS. Moreover, three and eight environmentally stable QTLs were detected by SNP-GWAS and haplotype-based GWAS, respectively. By integrating the above two approaches and by co-localizing the four traits, ten (10) genomic regions were under selection on chromosomes A03, A07, A08, A10, C06, C07, and C08. Interestingly, the genomic regions FT.A07.1, FT.A08, FT.C06, and FT.C07 were identified as novel. In these ten regions, a total of 197 genes controlling FT were detected, of which 14 highly expressed DEGs were orthologous to 13 Arabidopsis thaliana genes after integration with transcriptome results. In a nutshell, the above results uncovered the genetic architecture of important agronomic traits related to flowering time and provided a basis for multiple molecular marker-trait associations in B. napus. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Control of Flowering Time and Their Environmental Regulation in Crops)

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Review

Jump to: Research

15 pages, 2911 KiB

Open AccessReview

PEBP Signaling Network in Tubers and Tuberous Root Crops

by Hendry Susila and Yekti Asih Purwestri

Plants 2023, 12(2), 264; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12020264 - 06 Jan 2023

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2298

Abstract

Tubers and tuberous root crops are essential carbohydrate sources and staple foods for humans, second only to cereals. The developmental phase transition, including floral initiation and underground storage organ formation, is controlled by complex signaling processes involving the integration of environmental and endogenous [...] Read more.

Tubers and tuberous root crops are essential carbohydrate sources and staple foods for humans, second only to cereals. The developmental phase transition, including floral initiation and underground storage organ formation, is controlled by complex signaling processes involving the integration of environmental and endogenous cues. FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) and TERMINAL FLOWER 1/CENTRORADIALIS (TFL1/CEN), members of the phosphatidylethanolamine-binding protein (PEBP) gene family, play a central role in this developmental phase transition process. FT and FT-like proteins have a function to promote developmental phase transition, while TFL1/CEN act oppositely. The balance between FT and TFL1/CEN is critical to ensure a successful plant life cycle. Here, we present a summarized review of the role and signaling network of PEBP in floral initiation and underground storage organ formation, specifically in tubers and tuberous root crops. Lastly, we point out several questions that need to be answered in order to have a more complete understanding of the PEBP signaling network, which is crucial for the agronomical improvement of tubers and tuberous crops. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Control of Flowering Time and Their Environmental Regulation in Crops)

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20 pages, 866 KiB

Open AccessReview

Flowering Mechanisms and Environmental Stimuli for Flower Transition: Bases for Production Scheduling in Greenhouse Floriculture

by Simona Proietti, Valentina Scariot, Stefania De Pascale and Roberta Paradiso

Plants 2022, 11(3), 432; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11030432 - 05 Feb 2022

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 5130

Abstract

The scheduling of plant production is a critical aspect in modern floriculture since nowadays, sales are not oriented toward the recurring holidays as in the past, but always more toward impulse buying, implying a more diverse and constant demand on the market. This [...] Read more.

The scheduling of plant production is a critical aspect in modern floriculture since nowadays, sales are not oriented toward the recurring holidays as in the past, but always more toward impulse buying, implying a more diverse and constant demand on the market. This requires continuous production, often regulated by precise commercial agreements between growers and buyers, and between buyers and dealers, particularly in large-scale retail trade. In this scenario, diverse techniques to modulate the duration of the growing cycle, by hastening or slowing down plant growth and development, have been developed to match plant flowering to the market demand. Among the numerous approaches, the manipulation of climatic parameters in the growth environment is one of the most common in greenhouse floriculture. In this review, we summarize the physiological and biochemical bases underlying the main mechanisms of flowering, depending on the plant reaction to endogenous signals or environmental stimuli. In addition, the strategies based on the control of temperature (before or after planting) and light environment (as light intensity and spectrum, and the photoperiod) in the scheduling of flower and ornamental crop production are briefly described. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Control of Flowering Time and Their Environmental Regulation in Crops)

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