Identification of anAP2gene related to open flowering in diploid wheat(Triticum monococcum)

Abstract

Cleistogamy involves the shedding of pollen within an enclosed flower. In barley, this trait is determined by the presence of a recessive allele at the gene Cly1, a member of the AP2 gene family. Here we show that the Cly1 ortholog in einkorn (diploid) wheat (Triticum monococcum) TmAP2 shares a similar structure and identical pattern of transcription as Cly1. The transcript abundance of TmAP2 was high in the spike around the time of anthesis, but low in the leaf, plumule and radicle. The TmAP2 transcript was cleaved at its miR172 target site. Flower gaping at anthesis in einkorn wheat is induced by the expansion of the lodicules.