Abstract
The FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) gene plays crucial roles in regulating the transition from the vegetative to reproductive phase. To understand the molecular mechanism of reproduction, three homologous FT genes were isolated and characterized from Cymbidium sinense “Qi Jian Bai Mo”, Cymbidium goeringii and Cymbidium ensifolium “Jin Si Ma Wei”. The three genes contained 618-bp nucleotides with a 531-bp open reading frame (ORF) of encoding 176 amino acids (AAs). Alignment of the AA sequences revealed that CsFT, CgFT and CeFT contain a conserved domain, which is characteristic of the PEBP-RKIP superfamily, and which share high identity with FT of other plants in GenBank: 94% with OnFT from Oncidium Gower Ramsey, 79% with Hd3a from Oryza sativa, and 74% with FT from Arabidopsis thaliana. qRT-PCR analysis showed a diurnal expression pattern of CsFT, CgFT and CeFT following both long day (LD, 16-h light/8-h dark) and short day (SD, 8-h light/16-h dark) treatment. While the transcripts of both CsFT and CeFT under LD were significantly higher than under SD, those of CgFT were higher under SD. Ectopic expression of CgFT in transgenic Arabidopsis plants resulted in early flowering compared to wild-type plants and significant up-regulation of APETALA1 (AP1) expression. Our data indicates that CgFT is a putative phosphatidylethanolamine-binding protein gene in Cymbidium that may regulate the vegetative to reproductive transition in flowers, similar to its Arabidopsis ortholog.
Highlights
Great efforts have been made in understanding Cymbidium biotechnology, tissue culture and transgenics [1,2,3,4], and, together with Phalaenopsis, Dendrobium and Cattleya, Cymbidium is one of the most important orchids for the cut-flower and potted plant markets
FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) amino acids (AAs) sequences are identical; they share a high identity with FT of other plants in GenBank, such as OnFT (94%) from Oncidium Gower Ramsey, Hd3a (79%) from Oryza sativa, and FT (74%)
The three Chinese Cymbidium species in this study blossom in different seasons when they are planted in South China
Summary
Great efforts have been made in understanding Cymbidium biotechnology, tissue culture and transgenics [1,2,3,4], and, together with Phalaenopsis, Dendrobium and Cattleya, Cymbidium is one of the most important orchids for the cut-flower and potted plant markets. Chinese Cymbidium, which holds a strong position in traditional flower markets both on mainland China and in Taiwan, is of great horticultural value as an ornamental plant because of its beautiful and fragrant flowers. Chinese Cymbidium includes C. sinense, C. goeringii, C. forrestii, C. faberi, C. ensifolium and. C. goeringii is one of the most popular terrestrial species indigenous to temperate eastern Asia, cultivated as an ornamental, and whose flowers are used as ingredients of a soup, an alcoholic drink and tea [5]. C. ensifolium is a popular miniature terrestrial orchid which produces fragrant flowers and is often marketed as a potted specimen [6]
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