Abstract
Cool ambient temperatures are major cues determining flowering time in spring. The mechanisms promoting or delaying flowering in response to ambient temperature changes are only beginning to be understood. In Arabidopsis thaliana, FLOWERING LOCUS M (FLM) regulates flowering in the ambient temperature range and FLM is transcribed and alternatively spliced in a temperature-dependent manner. We identify polymorphic promoter and intronic sequences required for FLM expression and splicing. In transgenic experiments covering 69% of the available sequence variation in two distinct sites, we show that variation in the abundance of the FLM-ß splice form strictly correlate (R2 = 0.94) with flowering time over an extended vegetative period. The FLM polymorphisms lead to changes in FLM expression (PRO2+) but may also affect FLM intron 1 splicing (INT6+). This information could serve to buffer the anticipated negative effects on agricultural systems and flowering that may occur during climate change.
Highlights
Plants are sessile organisms that have adapted to their habitats to optimize flowering time and thereby guarantee reproductive success and survival
Temperature-dependent changes in FLOWERING LOCUS M (FLM) abundance and alternative splicing are critical for flowering time control in ambient temperatures in Arabidopsis
How FLM expression is regulated and whether Arabidopsis accessions have employed differential FLM expression and splicing to adapt to different temperature climates remained to be shown
Summary
Plants are sessile organisms that have adapted to their habitats to optimize flowering time and thereby guarantee reproductive success and survival. Temperature is one major cue controlling flowering time, before the winter and during spring when ambient cool temperatures generally delay and warm temperatures promote flowering. In Arabidopsis, flowering of winter-annual accessions without vernalization is strongly delayed by the MADS-box transcription factor FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC) (Song et al, 2012; Michaels and Amasino, 1999, 2001; Johanson et al, 2000). FLC forms a repressor complex through interactions with the MADS-box transcription factor SVP (SHORT VEGETATIVE PHASE) to repress the transcription of the flowering promoting genes FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) and SUPPRESSOR OF OVEREXPRESSION OF CO1 (SOC1) (Li et al, 2008; Lee et al, 2007).
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