Overexpression of TaMADS from wheat promotes flowering by upregulating expression of floral promoters and provides protection against thermal stress

Abstract

MADS-box genes belong to a large family of transcription factors. They are known to play key role in flower development and organ differentiation in plants. In this study an attempt was made to characterize a type II (MIKC) TaMADS identified through subtractive hybridization heat stress library of Triticum aestivum (CPAN1676). Overexpression of TaMADS resulted in early flowering under both long day and short day conditions as well as after cold treatment. This early flowering has been attributed to the upregulation of FCA and LD, both of which are floral promoters within the autonomous pathway. Expression analysis suggests the possible role of TaMADS in both heat stress and recovery. Moreover, heat stress induces a temporal and tissue specific regulation. The overexpression of TaMADS conferred increased tolerance in terms of growth and yield of transgenics under heat stress conditions. The expression studies revealed the additional role of TaMADS in various abiotic stress conditions. Conclusively, the data suggests that TaMADS is heat inducible and functions as a floral promoter.