Abstract
SummaryThe effects of daylength and temperature on flowering of the cultivated octoploid strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.) have been studied extensively at the physiological level, but information on the molecular pathways controlling flowering in the species is scarce. The flowering pathway has been studied at the molecular level in the diploid short‐day woodland strawberry (F. vesca L.), in which the FLOWERING LOCUS T1 (FvFT1)–SUPPRESSOR OF OVEREXPRESSION OF CONSTANS1 (FvSOC1)–TERMINAL FLOWER1 (FvTFL1) pathway is essential for the correct timing of flowering. In this work, we show by transgenic approach that the silencing of the floral repressor FaTFL1 in the octoploid short‐day cultivar ‘Elsanta’ is sufficient to induce perpetual flowering under long days without direct changes in vegetative reproduction. We also demonstrate that although the genes FaFT1 and FaSOC1 show similar expression patterns in different cultivars, the regulation of FaTFL1 varies widely from cultivar to cultivar and is correlated with floral induction, indicating that the transcription of FaTFL1 occurs at least partially independently of the FaFT1–FaSOC1 module. Our results indicate that changing the expression patterns of FaTFL1 through biotechnological or conventional breeding approaches could result in strawberries with specific flowering and runnering characteristics including new types of everbearing cultivars.
Highlights
The cultivated strawberry (Fragaria 9 ananassa Duch.) is an agronomically important crop species grown under a wide range of environmental conditions
Based on our findings, flowering time in the cultivated strawberry could be extended by reducing FaTFL1 expression either by means of conventional breeding, through transgenic procedures or genome editing (Xiong et al, 2015) without direct consequences in vegetative reproduction
The results presented here suggest that FaTFL1 acts as a floral repressor in the cultivated strawberry, and its down-regulation is correlated with subsequent floral induction in most cases
Summary
The cultivated strawberry (Fragaria 9 ananassa Duch.) is an agronomically important crop species grown under a wide range of environmental conditions. One aim in strawberry breeding programmes is to extend the cropping season. This can be achieved by breeding for early and late cultivars or everbearing cultivars, that is cultivars that flower perpetually throughout the growing season. The physiology of flowering in cultivated strawberry (Fragaria 9 ananassa Duch.) has been extensively studied for nearly a century. Branch crown development in SD cultivars is enhanced by environmental conditions favouring floral induction, and stolon formation is promoted by long days (LDs) and high temperature (Heide, 1977; Hyto€nen et al, 2004; Konsin et al, 2001; Mouhu et al, 2013)
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