AUTHOR=Vogt Sebastian H. , Weyens Guy , Lefèbvre Marc , Bork Bettina , Schechert Axel , Müller Andreas E. 

TITLE=The FLC-like gene BvFL1 is not a major regulator of vernalization response in biennial beets

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=5

YEAR=2014

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2014.00146

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2014.00146

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=<p>Many plant species in temperate climate regions require vernalization over winter to initiate flowering. <italic>Flowering Locus C</italic> (<italic>FLC</italic>) and <italic>FLC</italic>-like genes are key regulators of vernalization requirement and growth habit in winter-annual and perennial <italic>Brassicaceae</italic>. In the biennial crop species <italic>Beta vulgaris</italic> ssp. <italic>vulgaris</italic> in the evolutionarily distant Caryophyllales clade of core eudicots growth habit and bolting time are controlled by the vernalization and photoperiod response gene <italic>BTC1</italic> and the downstream <italic>BvFT1</italic>-<italic>BvFT2</italic> module. <italic>B. vulgaris</italic> also contains a vernalization-responsive <italic>FLC</italic> homolog (<italic>BvFL1</italic>). Here, to further elucidate the regulation of vernalization response and growth habit in beet, we functionally characterized <italic>BvFL1</italic> by RNAi and over-expression in transgenic plants. <italic>BvFL1</italic> RNAi neither eliminated the requirement for vernalization of biennial beets nor had a major effect on bolting time after vernalization. Over-expression of <italic>BvFL1</italic> resulted in a moderate late-bolting phenotype, with bolting after vernalization being delayed by approximately 1 week. By contrast, RNAi-induced down-regulation of the <italic>BvFT1</italic>-<italic>BvFT2</italic> module led to a strong delay in bolting after vernalization by several weeks. The data demonstrate for the first time that an <italic>FLC</italic> homolog does not play a major role in the control of vernalization response in a dicot species outside the <italic>Brassicaceae</italic>.</p>