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Phytochrome C is a key factor controlling long-day flowering in barley
Hidetaka Nishida1, Daisuke Ishihara, Makoto Ishii
1Graduate School of Environmental and Life Science, Okayama University, Okayama 700-8530, Japan.
Phytochrome C (HvPhyC) in barley controls flowering time by directly regulating flowering genes under long days. HvPhyC-e promotes earlier flowering by up-regulating FLOWERING LOCUS T1, bypassing other flowering regulators.
Area of Science:
- Plant genetics
- Molecular biology
- Agricultural science
Background:
- Vernalization (Vrn-H1) is crucial for determining barley's growth habit (winter vs. spring).
- A near-isogenic line (NIL) of winter barley (HK2) with a spring growth habit gene flowered later than expected, suggesting other genetic factors are involved.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify the gene responsible for the unexpected late-flowering phenotype in a spring-type barley NIL.
- To elucidate the molecular mechanism by which this gene controls flowering time.
Main Methods:
- Genetic analysis to identify the candidate gene.
- Sequencing to detect mutations in candidate genes.
- Functional assays in rice (Oryza sativa) mutants.
- Gene expression analysis in barley NILs.
Main Results:
- Phytochrome C (HvPhyC) was identified as the gene controlling the flowering time difference.
- A single nucleotide polymorphism in the HvPhyC-e allele (from HK2) resulted in an amino acid substitution in the GAF domain.
- HvPhyC-e up-regulated FLOWERING LOCUS T1 directly, bypassing CONSTANS1, leading to earlier flowering under long days.
- Both HvPhyC alleles were functional, but HvPhyC-e exhibited enhanced function.
Conclusions:
- HvPhyC is a key regulator of long-day flowering in barley.
- HvPhyC directly controls the expression of flowering promoter genes like FLOWERING LOCUS T1.
- HvPhyC's role in flowering time regulation extends beyond its known function in photoperception.
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