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A Pseudo-Response Regulator is misexpressed in the photoperiod insensitive Ppd-D1a mutant of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

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Abstract

Ppd-D1 on chromosome 2D is the major photoperiod response locus in hexaploid wheat (Triticum aestivum). A semi-dominant mutation widely used in the “green revolution” converts wheat from a long day (LD) to a photoperiod insensitive (day neutral) plant, providing adaptation to a broad range of environments. Comparative mapping shows Ppd-D1 to be colinear with the Ppd-H1 gene of barley (Hordeum vulgare) which is a member of the pseudo-response regulator (PRR) gene family. To investigate the relationship between wheat and barley photoperiod genes we isolated homologues of Ppd-H1 from a ‘Chinese Spring’ wheat BAC library and compared them to sequences from other wheat varieties with known Ppd alleles. Varieties with the photoperiod insensitive Ppd-D1a allele which causes early flowering in short (SD) or LDs had a 2 kb deletion upstream of the coding region. This was associated with misexpression of the 2D PRR gene and expression of the key floral regulator FT in SDs, showing that photoperiod insensitivity is due to activation of a known photoperiod pathway irrespective of day length. Five Ppd-D1 alleles were found but only the 2 kb deletion was associated with photoperiod insensitivity. Photoperiod insensitivity can also be conferred by mutation at a homoeologous locus on chromosome 2B (Ppd-B1). No candidate mutation was found in the 2B PRR gene but polymorphism within the 2B PRR gene cosegregated with the Ppd-B1 locus in a doubled haploid population, suggesting that insensitivity on 2B is due to a mutation outside the sequenced region or to a closely linked gene.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by grant 208/D18107 from the UK Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and by grant-in-aid to the John Innes Centre from the same source.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Crop Genetics Department, John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Colney, Norwich, NR4 7UH, UK

    James Beales, Adrian Turner, Simon Griffiths, John W. Snape & David A. Laurie

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  1. James Beales
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  2. Adrian Turner
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  3. Simon Griffiths
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  4. John W. Snape
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  5. David A. Laurie
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Correspondence to David A. Laurie.

Additional information

Communicated by P. Langridge.

J. Beales and A. Turner contributed equally to the work.

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122_2007_603_MOESM1_ESM.pdf

Fig. S1 PCR amplification of a genome specific amplicon from the 3′ UTR of TaCO1 in ‘Chinese Spring’ nullisomic-tetrasomic lines. The respective nullisomic chromosome is indicated below each track and the arrow shows the expected band size. Absence of the band in the nullisomic 7B line shows that the product derives from this chromosome (PDF 95 kb)

122_2007_603_MOESM2_ESM.pdf

Fig. S2 PCR amplification of PRR gene amplicons from ‘Chinese Spring’ nullisomic-tetrasomic lines of the group 2 chromosomes. This shows that the amplicons used to measure the expression of the 2A, 2B and 2D PRR genes are specific to their respective chromosomes (PDF 216 kb)

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Beales, J., Turner, A., Griffiths, S. et al. A Pseudo-Response Regulator is misexpressed in the photoperiod insensitive Ppd-D1a mutant of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Theor Appl Genet 115, 721–733 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00122-007-0603-4

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