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Identification and molecular characterization of a Brachypodium distachyon GIGANTEA gene: functional conservation in monocot and dicot plants

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Abstract

Developmental phase change and flowering transition are emerging as potential targets for biomass agriculture in recent years. The GIGANTEA (GI) gene is one of the central regulators that direct flowering promotion and phase transition. In this work, we isolated a GI gene orthologue from the small annual grass Brachypodium distachyon inbred line Bd21 (Brachypodium), which is perceived as a potential model monocot for studies on bioenergy grass species. A partial GI gene sequence was identified from a Brachypodium expressed sequence tag library, and a full-size gene (BdGI) was amplified from a Brachypodium cDNA library using specific primer sets designed through analysis of monocot GI gene sequences. The BdGI gene was up-regulated by light and cold. A circadian rhythm set by light–dark transition also regulated the expression of the BdGI gene. The deduced amino acid sequence of the BdGI protein shares higher than 70% of sequence identity with the GI proteins in monocots and Arabidopsis. In addition, the BdGI protein is constitutively targeted to the nucleus and physically interacts with the ZEITLUPE (ZTL) and CONSTITUTIVE PHOTOMORPHOGENIC 1 (COP1) proteins, like the Arabidopsis GI protein. Interestingly, heterologous expression of the BdGI gene in a GI-deficient Arabidopsis mutant rescued efficiently the late flowering phenotype. Together, our data indicate that the role of the GI gene in flowering induction is conserved in Arabidopsis and Brachypodium. It is envisioned that the GI genes of bioenergy grasses as well as Brachypodium could be manipulated to improve biomass by engineering developmental timing of phase transitions.

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Abbreviations

CO:

CONSTANS

COP1:

CONSTITUTIVE PHOTOMORPHOGENIC 1

EST:

Expressed sequence tag

FKF1:

FLAVIN-BINDING, KELCH REPEAT, F-BOX 1

FT:

FLOWERING LOCUS T

GI:

GIGANTEA

LD:

Long day

NLS:

Nuclear localization signal

qRT-PCR:

Quantitative real-time RT-PCR

RT-PCR:

Reverse transcription-PCR

SD:

Short day

SPY:

SPINDLY

TFL1:

Terminal flower 1

ZFN:

Zinc finger nuclease

ZT:

Zeitgeber time

ZTL:

ZEITLUPE

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Acknowledgments

We thank Dr. Inhwan Hwang for providing the p326-GFP vector, Dr. Jong-Seong Jeon for the pJJ461 vector. We also thank Ms. Kyung-A Ryu (Department of Biological Sciences, Seoul National University) for her help with confocal microscopic analysis. This work was supported by the Brain Korea 21, Biogreen 21 (20080401034001), and National Research Laboratory Programs and by grants from the Plant Signaling Network Research Center, the Korea Science and Engineering Foundation (2007-03415), and from the Agricultural R & D Promotion Center (309017-5), Korea Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, Seoul National University, Seoul, 151-742, Korea

    Shin-Young Hong, Sangmin Lee, Pil Joon Seo & Chung-Mo Park

  2. Division of Biological Sciences and the Research Institute for Bioactive Materials, Chonbuk National University, Jeonju, 561-756, Korea

    Moon-Sik Yang

  3. Plant Genomics and Breeding Institute, Seoul National University, Seoul, 151-742, Korea

    Chung-Mo Park

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  1. Shin-Young Hong
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Correspondence to Chung-Mo Park.

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Hong, SY., Lee, S., Seo, P.J. et al. Identification and molecular characterization of a Brachypodium distachyon GIGANTEA gene: functional conservation in monocot and dicot plants. Plant Mol Biol 72, 485–497 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11103-009-9586-7

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