Abstract
FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) is a central integrator of environmental signals that regulates the timing of vegetative to reproductive transition in flowering plants. In model plants, these environmental signals have been shown to include photoperiod, vernalization, and ambient temperature pathways, and in crop species, the integration of the ambient temperature pathway remains less well understood. In hexaploid wheat, at least 5 FT‐like genes have been identified, each with a copy on the A, B, and D genomes. Here, we report the characterization of FT‐B1 through analysis of FT‐B1 null and overexpression genotypes under different ambient temperature conditions. This analysis has identified that the FT‐B1 alleles perform differently under diverse environmental conditions; most notably, the FT‐B1 null produces an increase in spikelet and tiller number when grown at lower temperature conditions. Additionally, absence of FT‐B1 facilitates more rapid germination under both light and dark conditions. These results provide an opportunity to understand the FT‐dependent pathways that underpin key responses of wheat development to changes in ambient temperature. This is particularly important for wheat, for which development and grain productivity are sensitive to changes in temperature.
Highlights
Flowering and the subsequent production of gametes enable the introduction and maintenance of genetic diversity to a plant species
The FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) and FT‐like genes are known to be central in the regulation of vegetative to reproductive transition in plants; it is becoming apparent that these genes have central roles in the regulation of a number of other processes, many of which are key to agricultural productivity (Pin & Nilsson, 2012)
By growing genotypes that differ in FT‐B1 activity under different ambient growth temperatures, we have increased our understanding of the contribution for FT to thermally responsive developmental processes in wheat
Summary
Flowering and the subsequent production of gametes enable the introduction and maintenance of genetic diversity to a plant species. In the monocot crop plants, such as wheat and barley, multiple FT‐like genes have been identified and shown to have distinct expression patterns and specific interactions with FD‐like and 14‐3‐3 proteins (Li, Lin, & Dubcovsky, 2015; Taoka et al, 2011) This enables the formation of protein complexes containing FT which bind specific DNA sequences and mediate regulation of gene expression in an FT‐ dependent manner (Faure et al, 2007; Kikuchi, Kawahigashi, Ando, Tonooka, & Handa, 2009; Li et al, 2015; Li & Dubcovsky, 2008). We have generated a FT‐B1 overexpressor, using the Hope allele, in a highly similar genetic background (Paragon cultivar) This provided the opportunity to further understand the role of FT‐B1 in flowering regulation and to identify whether FT‐B1 in wheat fulfilled similar roles, relating to temperature responses and development, to those identified in other plant species. Understanding this will provide valuable information for the application of FT‐B1 alleles into an agricultural environment and provide important information for the identification of other genes involved in temperature dependent regulation of development and flowering
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