Plant Physiol.
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

Plant Physiology Preview
Published on July 13, 2007; 10.1104/pp.107.102632

OPEN ACCESS ARTICLE
This Article
Free via Open Access: OA
Right arrow Full Text (Plant Physiology Preview (PDF))
Right arrow Supplemental Data
Right arrowOA All Versions of this Article:
145/1/160    most recent
pp.107.102632v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Slotte, T.
Right arrow Articles by Lascoux, M.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Slotte, T.
Right arrow Articles by Lascoux, M.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Slotte, T.
Right arrow Articles by Lascoux, M.

Received May 23, 2007
Accepted July 10, 2007

Differential Expression of Genes Important for Adaptation in Capsella Bursa-pastoris (Brassicaceae)

Tanja Slotte *, Karl Holm , Lauren M. McIntyre , Ulf Lagercrantz , and Martin Lascoux

Department of Evolution, Genomics and Systematics, Uppsala University, Norbyvägen 18 D, SE-752 36 Uppsala, Sweden; Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610-0266, USA

* Corresponding author; email: Tanja.Slotte{at}ebc.uu.se.

Understanding the genetic basis of natural variation is of primary interest for evolutionary studies of adaptation. In Capsella bursa-pastoris, a close relative of Arabidopsis thaliana, variation in flowering time is correlated with latitude, suggestive of an adaptation to photoperiod. To identify pathways regulating natural flowering time variation in C. bursa-pastoris, we have studied gene expression differences between two pairs of early- and late-flowering C. bursa-pastoris accessions and compared their response to vernalization. Using A. thaliana microarrays, we found a large number of significant differences in gene expression between flowering ecotypes. The key flowering time gene FLC was not differentially expressed prior to vernalization. This result is in contrast to those in A. thaliana, where most natural flowering time variation acts through FLC. However, the gibberellin and photoperiodic flowering pathways were significantly enriched for gene expression differences between early- and late-flowering C. bursa-pastoris. Gibberellin biosynthesis genes were downregulated in late-flowering accessions, whereas circadian core genes in the photoperiodic pathway were differentially expressed between early- and late-flowering accessions. Detailed time-series experiments clearly demonstrated that the diurnal rhythm of CCA1 and TOC1 expression differed between flowering ecotypes, both under constant light and long-day conditions. Differential expression of flowering time genes was biologically validated in an independent pair of flowering ecotypes, suggesting a shared genetic basis or parallel evolution of similar regulatory differences. We conclude that genes involved in regulation of the circadian clock such as CCA1 and TOC1 are strong candidates for the evolution of adaptive flowering time variation in C. bursa-pastoris.






HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH
ASPB Publications PLANT PHYSIOLOGY THE PLANT CELL
Copyright © 2007 by the American Society of Plant Biologists