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Comparative Genomics and Functional Characterisation of the GIGANTEA Gene from the Temperate Forage Perennial Ryegrass Lolium perenne

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Abstract

Lolium perenne (ryegrass) is a perennial forage grass of worldwide importance. It is a temperate climate grass and flowering is induced by long day photoperiods. The agronomic productivity of ryegrass is strongly influenced by flowering time, but less is known about ryegrass flowering time regulators in other temperate Poaceae like wheat, barley and the model grass Brachypodium. The GIGANTEA (GI) gene was first identified in Arabidopsis and is an important regulator of photoperiodic flowering in angiosperms. GI usually exists as a conserved, single-copy gene. However, recently, genome sequencing has revealed that some plants, including the tropical grass maize, carry more than one full-length copy of GI. Here we describe the isolation and characterisation of the ryegrass L. perenne GIGANTEA gene (LpGI) gene. Comparative genomic analysis indicates that LpGI gene structure is very well conserved overall with GI genes from monocots and eudicots. LpGI protein clusters with GI proteins from other temperate grasses and is most closely related to the GI protein from meadow fescue. Genetic mapping locates LpGI to a chromosomal region that is syntenic with rice and Brachypodium GI. Our functional characterisation shows that LpGI shows a diurnal pattern of expression, continues to oscillate under constant light and adjusts its phase in response to changes in day length as seen in other plants. Constitutive expression of LpGI completely rescues the Arabidopsis gigantea-3 allele (gi-3) mutation, confirming that the isolated ryegrass gene is fully functional. Taken together, it is highly likely that LpGI is orthologous to Arabidopsis GI and involved in photoperiodic flowering time control in ryegrass.

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Acknowledgments

The authors sincerely thank Roger Moraga Martinez for the help and advice regarding sequence analysis. The help of Tash Forester during the sample collection is gratefully acknowledged. The research was funded by the New Zealand Foundation for Research Science and Technology (www.msi.govt.nz/) contract numbers C10X0816.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. AgResearch Grasslands Research Centre, Tennent Drive, Private Bag 11008, Palmerston North, 4442, New Zealand

    Milan Gagic, Marty Faville & Igor Kardailsky

  2. CLC Bio, Silkeborgvej 2, 8000, Aarhus, Denmark

    Igor Kardailsky

  3. Flowering Lab, School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, New Zealand

    Joanna Putterill

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  1. Milan Gagic
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  2. Marty Faville
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  4. Joanna Putterill
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Correspondence to Joanna Putterill.

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Gagic, M., Faville, M., Kardailsky, I. et al. Comparative Genomics and Functional Characterisation of the GIGANTEA Gene from the Temperate Forage Perennial Ryegrass Lolium perenne . Plant Mol Biol Rep 33, 1098–1106 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11105-014-0820-3

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