RRC ID 36841
Author Lutz U, Posé D, Pfeifer M, Gundlach H, Hagmann J, Wang C, Weigel D, Mayer KF, Schmid M, Schwechheimer C.
Title Modulation of Ambient Temperature-Dependent Flowering in Arabidopsis thaliana by Natural Variation of FLOWERING LOCUS M.
Journal PLoS Genet
Abstract Plants integrate seasonal cues such as temperature and day length to optimally adjust their flowering time to the environment. Compared to the control of flowering before and after winter by the vernalization and day length pathways, mechanisms that delay or promote flowering during a transient cool or warm period, especially during spring, are less well understood. Due to global warming, understanding this ambient temperature pathway has gained increasing importance. In Arabidopsis thaliana, FLOWERING LOCUS M (FLM) is a critical flowering regulator of the ambient temperature pathway. FLM is alternatively spliced in a temperature-dependent manner and the two predominant splice variants, FLM-ß and FLM-δ, can repress and activate flowering in the genetic background of the A. thaliana reference accession Columbia-0. The relevance of this regulatory mechanism for the environmental adaptation across the entire range of the species is, however, unknown. Here, we identify insertion polymorphisms in the first intron of FLM as causative for accelerated flowering in many natural A. thaliana accessions, especially in cool (15°C) temperatures. We present evidence for a potential adaptive role of this structural variation and link it specifically to changes in the abundance of FLM-ß. Our results may allow predicting flowering in response to ambient temperatures in the Brassicaceae.
Volume 11(10)
Pages e1005588
Published 2015-10-1
DOI 10.1371/journal.pgen.1005588
PII PGENETICS-D-15-01435
PMID 26492483
PMC PMC4619661
MeSH Alternative Splicing / genetics Arabidopsis / genetics* Arabidopsis / growth & development Arabidopsis Proteins / biosynthesis Arabidopsis Proteins / genetics* Flowers / genetics* Gene Expression Regulation, Plant Global Warming MADS Domain Proteins / biosynthesis MADS Domain Proteins / genetics* Mutagenesis, Insertional / genetics* Polymorphism, Genetic Seasons Temperature
IF 5.175
Times Cited 47
WOS Category GENETICS & HEREDITY
Resource
Arabidopsis / Cultured plant cells, genes psh16750