拟南芥春化作用相关基因FLC的表达调控及天然早花突变体的研究进展

植物开花是从营养生长到生殖状态的重要发育转变,是多种内在因子和环境因素共同作用的结果。在拟南芥开花调控网络中,开花抑制基因FLC处于枢纽地位。FLC的表达受许多来自环境和生长发育的信号调控,主要包括：PAF1复合体、SWR1复合体成员,FRI依赖途径、自主途径和春化作用途径基因。本文主要综述了影响FLC表达的春化相关基因及天然早花突变体的研究进展,并根据最新的研究成果提出该研究领域的研究方向和重点。     

植物花发育的分子机理研究进展

花的发育分为开花决定、花的发端和花器官的发育三个阶段。植物开花由多条途径诱导,包括光周期和光质诱导、春化作用、自主途径、赤霉素诱导、碳水化合物诱导等;植物体本身也存在着开花抑制途径。各种开花诱导途径能激活花分生组织特性基因,使茎端分生组织转变为花分生组织。花器官的发育由器官特性基因决定,这些基因的精确表达需要花分生组织特性基因的激活和多个正、负调节因子的调控;另有一类基因控制着花发育的对称性。花发育机理的研究具有重要的理论意义和广泛的应用前景。     

植物花发育的分子机理研究进展

花的发育分为开花决定、花的发端和花器官的发育三个阶段。植物开花由多条途径诱导,包括光周期和光质诱导、春化作用、自主途径、赤霉素诱导、碳水化合物诱导等;植物体本身也存在着开花抑制途径。各种开花诱导途径能激活花分生组织特性基因,使茎端分生组织转变为花分生组织。花器官的发育由器官特性基因决定,这些基因的精确表达需要花分生组织特性基因的激活和多个正、负调节因子的调控;另有一类基因控制着花发育的对称性。花发育机理的研究具有重要的理论意义和广泛的应用前景。     

黄瓜中LFY同源基因CFL的克隆和分析

ＬＦＹ同源基因在高等植物花分生组织的发生中发挥着重要的作用。克隆了黄瓜（ Ｃｕｃｕｍｉｓｓａｔｉｖｕｓ Ｌ．） 中的ＬＦＹ同源基因ＣＦＬ,Ｓｏｕｔｈｅｒｎ 杂交的结果显示它在黄瓜基因组中为单拷贝基因,Ｎｏｒｔｈｅｒｎ 杂交结果显示它主要在花芽和幼叶中表达。讨论了ＣＦＬ基因在黄瓜开花和营养生长中可能发挥的作用     

植物非编码RNA调控春化作用的表观遗传

在自然界中许多高等植物需要通过冬季的低温阶段实现从营养生长到生殖生长的时期转化,这一生物学过程称作春化作用。小麦(Triticum aestivum L.)和油菜(Brassica napus L.)等作物以种子为产品器官,生产上往往通过茬口安排和栽培措施使植株尽早通过春化作用,以促进花芽形成和花器官发育,而大白菜(B rapa ssp.pekinenesis)和甘蓝(B.oleracea)等作物以叶球等营养器官作为产品器官,生产上则设法避免低温引起的春化作用,以保证产品器官的充分生长。FLOWERING LOCUS C(FLC)作为一种重要的开花抑制蛋白负调控春化作用,参与植株从营养生长向生殖生长的转化过程。文章综述了春化中FLC表达受抑制主要通过低温诱导表达FLC基因区域的非编码RNA以及VRN1、VRN2、VIN3等蛋白参与介导组蛋白甲基化,从而在表观遗传上控制春化作用的进程和产品器官的正常发育。     

甘蓝型油菜RPD3/HDA1基因家族鉴定及早熟相关基因挖掘

该研究运用生物信息学方法鉴定甘蓝型油菜RPD3/HDA1基因家族,检测了其在‘黔油早2号’和‘中双11’中的表达水平及2个品种在低温(4℃)和ABA胁迫下该家族基因的表达特征,以探讨RPD3/HDA1基因在甘蓝型油菜中的潜在功能,为早熟油菜抗逆性遗传改良提供理论基础和候选基因。结果表明:(1)在甘蓝型油菜全基因组中共鉴定到28个RPD3/HDA1基因,将其命名为BnHDA1~BnHDA28,聚类为4个亚家族,同一亚家族成员的基因结构较为相似;在该基因家族中共检测到16对复制基因,均为片段重复。(2)顺式作用元件预测统计中共发现675个元件与植物激素、环境胁迫和光响应有关。(3)qRT-PCR分析显示,RPD3/HDA1基因在‘黔油早2号’中的表达量均高于‘中双11’;低温胁迫下,‘黔油早2号’和‘中双11’中RPD3/HDA1基因呈差异表达,与‘中双11’相比,RPD3/HDA1基因在‘黔油早2号’中的下调幅度较大;ABA处理后,RPD3/HDA1基因在2个品种中表达模式不一致,‘黔油早2号’中大部分RPD3/HDA1基因表达量较‘中双11’下调幅度小。研究认为,RPD3/HDA1基因可能在油菜开花中发挥调节作用,而且可能通过激素信号通路和防御信号通路参与油菜的生长发育和防御反应的调节。     

早花基因在植物教学及遗传育种中的应用

不同植物在开花时间上总是存在一定的差异,这种差异有其本身的遗传基础,也与温度和(或)光周期有密切关系,这些性状可能以数学遗传或质量遗传方式遗传下去。深入研究表明植物均不同程度地存在早花基因,Gottschal和Wellensic报道了豆类中的早花基因,报道认为早花基因是隐性等位基因;Murfet报道了在豆类中的早花基因为一个显性一个隐性组成;Bernard报道了大豆的早花基因为两个隐性等位基因;Coyne和Mattson鉴别出了菜豆的三种开花时间基因;Pinihus报道了春小麦中的一个显性早花基因;Ttai讨论了水稻上的复杂开花基因,其早花基因是由在不同位点上的4     

多花海棠叶绿体基因组分析

多花海棠（Malus floribunda Siebold.）是世界范围内广泛栽培的苹果属物种,具有较高的观赏价值和育种意义。对其进行叶绿体基因组比较分析,有利于完善苹果属系统进化以及种质利用的研究内容。基于全基因组测序数据,组装获得一个完整的具有四分体结构的多花海棠叶绿体基因组。该基因组包括大单拷贝区（88 142 bp）、反向重复区B （26 353 bp）、小单拷贝区（19 189 bp）与反向重复区A （26 353 bp）,共计160 037 bp。多花海棠叶绿体全基因组共注释到111个基因,包括78个蛋白编码基因、29个tRNA基因和4个rRNA基因。此外,在其基因组中识别到大量的重复序列,与三叶海棠和变叶海棠略有差异。通过计算相对同义密码子使用度,发现其高频密码子共30种,并且密码子具有偏向A/T结尾的使用模式。种间序列比对、边界分析的结果表明,大单拷贝区序列变异较大,8种苹果属植物SC区与IR区扩张收缩情况整体上较为相似。基于叶绿体基因组序列的系统进化分析,将多花海棠、湖北海棠和变叶海棠聚为一类。多花海棠叶绿体基因组的研究可为今后遗传标记开发与种质资源利用等提供数据支持。     

红菜薹春化相关基因的克隆与表达

红菜薹是一种不经春化处理就可开花的天然早花突变体.根据已报道的拟南芥和芸薹属植物春化相关基因的保守区域设计引物,通过PCR和RT-PCR方法从红菜薹中克隆得到了4个春化相关的关键基因片段:BrFRI、BrFLC、BrVIN3、BrSOC1,获得BrFRI起始密码子附近的关键序列,其中BrVIN3基因序列为首次报道,含有PHD区关键区域.Northern和半定量RT-PCR表达分析表明:BrFRI的表达不受春化作用的影响,BrFLC受春化作用的抑制,BrVIN3和BrSOC1受春化作用的诱导.     

两种珍稀白蝶兰属(兰科)叶绿体基因组比较分析

为理解珍稀濒危兰科植物龙头兰(Pecteilis susannae)和景洪白蝶兰(P.hawkesiana)的叶绿体基因组的基本特征,开发用于物种鉴定、保护遗传学和系统发育分析的分子标记,该研究利用二代测序技术对龙头兰和景洪白蝶兰进行浅层基因组测序,采用生物信息学分析方法进行叶绿体基因组的拼接、组装和注释,并与其他近缘物种进行比较基因组分析和系统发育分析。结果表明：(1)龙头兰和景洪白蝶兰的叶绿体基因组大小分别为154 407 bp和153 891 bp,由一对26 550 bp和26 523 bp的反向重复序列(IR)、84 204 bp和83 756 bp的大单拷贝区(LSC)、17 103 bp和17 089 bp的小单拷贝区(SSC)组成;均注释了111个唯一基因,包括77个蛋白质编码基因、30个tRNA基因和4个rRNA基因。(2)在叶绿体基因组中分别鉴定出94个和92个简单重复序列(SSRs)。(3)二者之间存在706个单核苷酸多态性(SNPs)位点和152个插入缺失(InDels)位点,其中cpInDel 067等可以区分2个物种。(4)观察到1个差异较大的基因(accD...     

Flowering time variation in oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) is associated with allelic variation in the FRIGIDA homologue BnaA.FRI.a

Oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) is a major oil crop which is grown worldwide. Adaptation to different environments and regional climatic conditions involves variation in the regulation of flowering time. Winter types have a strong vernalization requirement whereas semi-winter and spring types have a low vernalization requirement or flower without exposure to cold, respectively. In Arabidopsis thaliana, FRIGIDA (FRI) is a key regulator which inhibits floral transition through activation of FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC), a central repressor of flowering which controls vernalization requirement and response. Here, four FRI homologues in B. napus were identified by BAC library screening and PCR-based cloning. While all homologues are expressed, two genes were found to be differentially expressed in aerial plant organs. One of these, BnaA.FRI.a, was mapped to a region on chromosome A03 which co-localizes with a major flowering time quantitative trait locus in multiple environments in a doubled-haploid mapping population. Association analysis of BnaA.FRI.a revealed that six SNPs, including at least one at a putative functional site, and one haplotype block, respectively, are associated with flowering time variation in 248 accessions, with flowering times differing by 13-19 d between extreme haplotypes. The results from both linkage analysis and association mapping indicate that BnaA.FRI.a is a major determinant of flowering time in oilseed rape, and suggest further that this gene also contributes to the differentiation between growth types. The putative functional polymorphisms identified here may facilitate adaptation of this crop to specific environments through marker-assisted breeding.     

A cluster of Arabidopsis genes with a coordinate response to an environmental stimulus

Vernalization, the promotion of flowering after prolonged exposure to low temperatures, is an adaptive response of plants ensuring that flowering occurs at a propitious time in the annual seasonal cycle. In Arabidopsis, FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC), which encodes a repressor of flowering, is a key gene in the vernalization response; plants with high-FLC expression respond to vernalization by downregulating FLC and thereby flowering at an earlier time. Vernalization has the hallmarks of an epigenetically regulated process. The downregulation of FLC by low temperatures is maintained throughout vegetative development but is reset at each generation. During our study of vernalization, we have found that a small gene cluster, including FLC and its two flanking genes, is coordinately regulated in response to genetic modifiers, to the environmental stimulus of vernalization, and in plants with low levels of DNA methylation. Genes encoded on foreign DNA inserted into the cluster also acquire the low-temperature response. At other chromosomal locations, FLC maintains its response to vernalization and imposes a parallel response on a flanking gene. This suggests that FLC contains sequences that confer changes in gene expression extending beyond FLC itself, perhaps through chromatin modification.     

Role of FRIGIDA and FLOWERING LOCUS C in determining variation in flowering time of Arabidopsis

Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) accessions provide an excellent resource to dissect the molecular basis of adaptation. We have selected 192 Arabidopsis accessions collected to represent worldwide and local variation and analyzed two adaptively important traits, flowering time and vernalization response. There was huge variation in the flowering habit of the different accessions, with no simple relationship to latitude of collection site and considerable diversity occurring within local regions. We explored the contribution to this variation from the two genes FRIGIDA (FRI) and FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC), previously shown to be important determinants in natural variation of flowering time. A correlation of FLC expression with flowering time and vernalization was observed, but it was not as strong as anticipated due to many late-flowering/vernalization-requiring accessions being associated with low FLC expression and early-flowering accessions with high FLC expression. Sequence analysis of FRI revealed which accessions were likely to carry functional alleles, and, from comparison of flowering time with allelic type, we estimate that approximately 70% of flowering time variation can be accounted for by allelic variation of FRI. The maintenance and propagation of 20 independent nonfunctional FRI haplotypes suggest that the loss-of-function mutations can confer a strong selective advantage. Accessions with a common FRI haplotype were, in some cases, associated with very different FLC levels and wide variation in flowering time, suggesting additional variation at FLC itself or other genes regulating FLC. These data reveal how useful these Arabidopsis accessions will be in dissecting the complex molecular variation that has led to the adaptive phenotypic variation in flowering time.     

Control of Arabidopsis flowering: the chill before the bloom

The timing of the floral transition has significant consequences for reproductive success in plants. Plants gauge both environmental and endogenous signals before switching to reproductive development. Many temperate species only flower after they have experienced a prolonged period of cold, a process known as vernalization, which aligns flowering with the favourable conditions of spring. Considerable progress has been made in understanding the molecular basis of vernalization in Arabidopsis. A central player in this process is FLC, which blocks flowering by inhibiting genes required to switch the meristem from vegetative to floral development. Recent data shows that many regulators of FLC alter chromatin structure or are involved in RNA processing.     

Genetic and physiological analysis of biennialism in Hyoscyamus niger

A genetic and physiological study of biennialism in the diploid selfer Hyoscyamus niger (black henbane), an obligate long-day plant, is described. Three annual and two biennial accessions that were homozygous for their respective growth habits were selected. The early-flowering trait of two annual accessions was dominant over the late-flowering trait of the third annual accession. The late-flowering annual accession, but not the early-flowering ones, responded to vernalization. Two biennial accessions remained vegetative after more than 1 year in soil and thus had an obligate vernalization requirement. Crosses between annual and biennial accessions showed that biennialism was conferred through a single dominant gene. However, plants containing only one copy of this dominant gene were transformed from biennials into very late-flowering winter-annual plants that responded more rapidly to vernalization than biennials. Taken together, these results indicated that there were allelic differences in photoperiod-specific flowering time genes and that biennialism was a dose-dependent trait with incomplete dominance. Models for flowering time regulation in henbane involving photoperiod-, vernalization-, and most likely gibberellin-specific pathways are discussed.     

FLC基因表达在植物春化过程中的作用

在对以往有关不同开花途径研究简要总结的基础上综述了FLC基因在春化过程中的作用。近期以拟南芥不同生态型和突变体为模式的研究结果表明基因FLC可能是春化反应的关键基因。研究发现 ,FLC的表达水平与植株低温处理的时间呈数量关系 ,低温处理时间越长 ,FLC的表达越弱 ,去甲基化也可能对FLC起负调控的作用。同时FLC也存在于自主开花途径中 ,与其他基因共同作用以调节植株开花时间。而FLC的表达对开花起抑制作用。一系列研究表明 ,春化的低温作用可能在于相关基因的去甲基化 ,消除了FLC对开花的抑制作用 ,从而解除赤霉素合成途径的封锁最终导致植株在一定时期开花。