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EARLY FLOWERING3 Redundancy Fine-Tunes Photoperiod Sensitivity
Andrew J S Rubenach1,2, Valérie Hecht1,2, Jacqueline K Vander Schoor1,2
1School of Plant Science, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania 7001, Australia (A.J.S.R., V.H., J.K.V., L.C.L., J.L.W.); and.
Plant Physiology
|February 17, 2017
Summary
Pea flowering time is regulated by circadian clock genes. Researchers identified a new gene, PHOTOPERIOD (PPD), as an ELF3 co-ortholog (ELF3b), revealing its role in diurnal rhythms and flowering responses.
Area of Science:
- Plant genetics
- Circadian biology
- Molecular evolution
Background:
- Pea photoperiod sensitivity involves HIGH RESPONSE (HR), DIE NEUTRALIS (DNE), and STERILE NODES (SN) loci.
- These loci are orthologs of Arabidopsis circadian clock genes ELF3, ELF4, and LUX ARRHYTHMO.
- The PHOTOPERIOD (PPD) locus affects flowering time but its molecular identity was unknown.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify the molecular identity of the pea PPD locus.
- To investigate the role of PPD in diurnal and circadian gene expression rhythms.
- To understand the genetic interactions between pea ELF3 genes and their impact on flowering time.
Main Methods:
- Genetic analysis of pea mutants.
- Identification of gene orthologs between Pisum sativum and Arabidopsis thaliana.
- Analysis of diurnal and circadian gene expression patterns.
Main Results:
- The PPD locus was identified as an ELF3 co-ortholog, named ELF3b.
- PPD plays a role in maintaining diurnal and circadian gene expression rhythms.
- Genetic interactions show PPD's partial compensation for HR loss and no effect on flowering time with functional HR.
Conclusions:
- The molecular identity of the PPD locus in peas is revealed as ELF3b, a co-ortholog of ELF3.
- Gene duplication and divergence contribute to subtle phenotypic variations with potential adaptive significance in plant flowering time.
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