First published online July 15, 2005; 10.1104/pp.105.061762
Plant Physiology 138:2354-2363 (2005)
© 2005 American Society of Plant Biologists
ENVIRONMENTAL STRESS AND ADAPTATION
TaVRT-2, a Member of the StMADS-11 Clade of Flowering Repressors, Is Regulated by Vernalization and Photoperiod in Wheat1,[w]
Ndjido A. Kane,
Jean Danyluk,
Guylaine Tardif,
François Ouellet,
Jean-François Laliberté,
Allen E. Limin,
D. Brian Fowler and
Fathey Sarhan*
Département des Sciences Biologiques, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3C 3P8 (N.A.K., J.D., F.O., F.S); Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique, Institut Armand-Frappier, Laval, Quebec, Canada H7V 1B7 (G.T., J.-F.L.); and Department of Plant Sciences, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada S7N 5A8 (A.E.L., D.B.F.)
The initiation of the reproductive phase in winter cereals is delayed during winter until favorable growth conditions resume in the spring. This delay is modulated by low temperature through the process of vernalization. The molecular and genetic bases of the interaction between environmental factors and the floral transition in these species are still unknown. However, the recent identification of the wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) TaVRT-1 gene provides an opportunity to decipher the molecular basis of the flowering-time regulation in cereals. Here, we describe the characterization of another gene, named TaVRT-2, possibly involved in the flowering pathway in wheat. Molecular and phylogenetic analyses indicate that the gene encodes a member of the MADS-box transcription factor family that belongs to a clade responsible for flowering repression in several species. Expression profiling of TaVRT-2 in near-isogenic lines and different genotypes with natural variation in their response to vernalization and photoperiod showed a strong relationship with floral transition. Its expression is up-regulated in the winter genotypes during the vegetative phase and in photoperiod-sensitive genotypes during short days, and is repressed by vernalization to a level that allows the transition to the reproductive phase. Protein-protein interaction studies revealed that TaVRT-2 interacts with proteins encoded by two important vernalization genes (TaVRT-1/VRN-1 and VRN-2) in wheat. These results support the hypothesis that TaVRT-2 is a putative repressor of the floral transition in wheat.
1 This work was supported by a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada discovery grant (to F.S.), and by Genome Canada, Genome Québec, and Genome Prairie grants (to F.S. and D.B.F.).
[w] The online version of this article contains Web-only data.
Article, publication date, and citation information can be found at www.plantphysiol.org/cgi/doi/10.1104/pp.105.061762.
* Corresponding author; e-mail sarhan.fathey{at}uqam.ca; fax 5149874647.
Received February 21, 2005;
returned for revision April 22, 2005;
accepted April 29, 2005.
This article has been cited by other articles:

|
 |

|
 |
 
C. Liu, Z. Thong, and H. Yu
Coming into bloom: the specification of floral meristems
Development,
October 15, 2009;
136(20):
3379 - 3391.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
 |
|

|
 |

|
 |
 
M. Baga, D. B. Fowler, and R. N. Chibbar
Identification of genomic regions determining the phenological development leading to floral transition in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)
J. Exp. Bot.,
August 1, 2009;
60(12):
3575 - 3585.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
 |
|

|
 |

|
 |
 
A. Greenup, W. J. Peacock, E. S. Dennis, and B. Trevaskis
The molecular biology of seasonal flowering-responses in Arabidopsis and the cereals
Ann. Bot.,
June 1, 2009;
103(8):
1165 - 1172.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
 |
|

|
 |

|
 |
 
B. Pidal, L. Yan, D. Fu, F. Zhang, G. Tranquilli, and J. Dubcovsky
The CArG-Box Located Upstream from the Transcriptional Start of Wheat Vernalization Gene VRN1 Is Not Necessary for the Vernalization Response
J. Hered.,
May 1, 2009;
100(3):
355 - 364.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
 |
|

|
 |

|
 |
 
S. Sasani, M. N. Hemming, S. N. Oliver, A. Greenup, R. Tavakkol-Afshari, S. Mahfoozi, K. Poustini, H.-R. Sharifi, E. S. Dennis, W. J. Peacock, et al.
The influence of vernalization and daylength on expression of flowering-time genes in the shoot apex and leaves of barley (Hordeum vulgare).
J. Exp. Bot.,
May 1, 2009;
60(7):
2169 - 2178.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
 |
|

|
 |

|
 |
 
M. Badawi, Y. V. Reddy, Z. Agharbaoui, Y. Tominaga, J. Danyluk, F. Sarhan, and M. Houde
Structure and Functional Analysis of Wheat ICE (Inducer of CBF Expression) Genes
Plant Cell Physiol.,
August 1, 2008;
49(8):
1237 - 1249.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
 |
|

|
 |

|
 |
 
F. Fornara, V. Gregis, N. Pelucchi, L. Colombo, and M. Kater
The rice StMADS11-like genes OsMADS22 and OsMADS47 cause floral reversions in Arabidopsis without complementing the svp and agl24 mutants
J. Exp. Bot.,
May 2, 2008;
(2008)
ern083v1.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
 |
|

|
 |

|
 |
 
M. N. Hemming, W. J. Peacock, E. S. Dennis, and B. Trevaskis
Low-Temperature and Daylength Cues Are Integrated to Regulate FLOWERING LOCUS T in Barley
Plant Physiology,
May 1, 2008;
147(1):
355 - 366.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
 |
|

|
 |

|
 |
 
C. M. Alexandre and L. Hennig
FLC or not FLC: the other side of vernalization
J. Exp. Bot.,
April 4, 2008;
(2008)
ern070v1.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
 |
|

|
 |

|
 |
 
H. Adam, F. Ouellet, N. A. Kane, Z. Agharbaoui, G. Major, Y. Tominaga, and F. Sarhan
Overexpression of TaVRN1 in Arabidopsis Promotes Early Flowering and Alters Development
Plant Cell Physiol.,
August 1, 2007;
48(8):
1192 - 1206.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
 |
|

|
 |

|
 |
 
J. Cockram, H. Jones, F. J. Leigh, D. O'Sullivan, W. Powell, D. A. Laurie, and A. J. Greenland
Control of flowering time in temperate cereals: genes, domestication, and sustainable productivity
J. Exp. Bot.,
April 9, 2007;
(2007)
erm042v1.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
 |
|

|
 |

|
 |
 
B. Trevaskis, M. Tadege, M. N. Hemming, W. J. Peacock, E. S. Dennis, and C. Sheldon
Short Vegetative Phase-Like MADS-Box Genes Inhibit Floral Meristem Identity in Barley
Plant Physiology,
January 1, 2007;
143(1):
225 - 235.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
 |
|

|
 |

|
 |
 
S. Ciannamea, K. Kaufmann, M. Frau, I. A. N. Tonaco, K. Petersen, K. K. Nielsen, G. C. Angenent, and R. G. H. Immink
Protein interactions of MADS box transcription factors involved in flowering in Lolium perenne
J. Exp. Bot.,
October 1, 2006;
57(13):
3419 - 3431.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
 |
|

|
 |

|
 |
 
B. Trevaskis, M. N. Hemming, W. J. Peacock, and E. S. Dennis
HvVRN2 Responds to Daylength, whereas HvVRN1 Is Regulated by Vernalization and Developmental Status
Plant Physiology,
April 1, 2006;
140(4):
1397 - 1405.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
 |
|
|
|