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Two FT orthologs from Populus simonii Carrière induce early flowering in Arabidopsis and poplar trees

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Abstract

Genes in the FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) family have been shown to be important in the control of the switch between vegetative and reproductive growth in several plant species. In this study, two FT orthologs were isolated from Populus simonii, a species indigenous to China and planted in North China as a shelterbelt. The orthologs were named PsFT1 and PsFT2. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the two genes belonged to the FT gene family. PsFT1 and PsFT2 control flowering initiation in response to day-length when ectopically expressed in transgenic Arabidopsis and transgenic juvenile poplar clone T89 plants. Moreover, when poplar T89 was transformed with PsFT1 or PsFT2, flowering was induced within 40 days. Subsequently, floral meristems emerged on the flanks of the axillary inflorescence shoots. These findings suggest that PsFT1 and PsFT2 are involved in the control of the timing of flowering in Populus simonii.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Department Public Benefit Research Foundation of China (201204319 and 201004004) and National Basic Research Program of China (2009CB19100).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Poplar Germplasm Enhancement and Variety Improvement, Key Laboratory of Genetics and Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, 210037, China

    Lili Shen, Ying Chen, Huixin Pan & Minren Huang

  2. Research Institute of Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, 100091, China

    Xiaohua Su & Shougong Zhang

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  1. Lili Shen
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  2. Ying Chen
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  3. Xiaohua Su
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  4. Shougong Zhang
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  5. Huixin Pan
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  6. Minren Huang
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Minren Huang.

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Lili Shen and Ying Chen authors are contributed equally to this work.

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Shen, L., Chen, Y., Su, X. et al. Two FT orthologs from Populus simonii Carrière induce early flowering in Arabidopsis and poplar trees. Plant Cell Tiss Organ Cult 108, 371–379 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11240-011-0048-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11240-011-0048-y

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