Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 19, 2025

Enhanced Genome Editing with Cas9 Ribonucleoprotein in Diverse Cells and Organisms
Published on: May 25, 2018
Species-wide gene editing of a flowering regulator reveals hidden phenotypic variation
Ulrich Lutz1, Ilja Bezrukov1, Rebecca Schwab1
1Department of Molecular Biology, Max Planck Institute for Biology Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
Abstract:
Genes do not act in isolation, and the effects of a specific variant at one locus can often be greatly modified by polymorphic variants at other loci. A good example is FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC), which has been inferred to explain much of the flowering time variation in Arabidopsis thaliana. We use a set of 62 flc species-wide mutants to document pleiotropic, genotype-dependent effects for FLC on flowering as well as several other traits. Time to flowering was greatly reduced in all mutants, with the remaining variation explained mainly by allelic variation at the FLC target FT. Analysis of FT sequence variation suggested that extremely early combinations of FLC and FT alleles should exist in the wild, which we confirmed by targeted collections. Our study provides a proof of concept on how pan-genetic analysis of hub genes can reveal the true extent of genetic networks in a species.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Position-effect Variegation
Background and Environment Affect Phenotype
An example of how genetic background affects phenotype can be seen in horses. The Extension gene in horses is responsible for their coat color. A wild-type gene (EE) produces black pigment in the coat, while a mutant gene (ee) produces red pigment. A...
Reporter Genes
Cis-regulatory Sequences

