A splicing site mutation in <Emphasis Type="Italic">BrpFLC1</Emphasis> and repressed expression of <Emphasis Type="Italic">BrpFLC</Emphasis> genes are associated with the early flowering of purple flowering stalk

FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC), which encodes a MADS-box domain protein, is a flowering repressor involved in the key position of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) flowering network. In Brassica species, several FLC homologues are involved in flowering time like Arabidopsis FLC. Here, we report the analysis of splicing variation in BrpFLC1 and the expression of BrpFLC homologues associated with early flowering of Purple Flowering Stalk (Brassica campestris L. ssp. chinensis L. var. purpurea Bailey). It was indicated that a splice site mutation happened in intron 6 with G to A at the 5′ splice site. Three alternative splicing patterns of BrpFLC1, including the entire exon 6 excluded and 24 bp or 87 bp of intron 6 retained, were identified in Purple Flowering Stalk. But there was only one normal splicing pattern in Pakchoi (Brassica campestris ssp. chinensis var. communis). Northern blotting and semi-quantitative RT-PCR revealed that the expression levels of the three FLC homologues in Purple Flowering Stalk were lower than that in Pakchoi. However, the expression levels of downstream genes, SUPPRESSOR OF OVEREXPRESSION OF CONSTANS 1 (SOC1) and FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT), were higher in Purple Flowering Stalk. These results suggest that a natural splicing site mutation in BrpFLC1 gene and repressed expression of all BrpFLC genes contribute significantly to flowering time variation in Purple Flowering Stalk.