The function of the flowering time gene AGL20 is conserved in Crucifers

The MADS box gene, AGAMOUS-LIKE 20 (AGL20), integrates environmental and endogenous flowering signals in Arabidopsis thaliana. In order to determine if its role is conserved in other plants, we isolated AGL20 orthologs from Brassica campestris, Cardamine flexuosa and Draba nemorosa. The putative amino acid sequences of the orthologs were 94 to 97% identical. We analyzed the flowering phenotype and expression level of the AGL20 ortholog in C. flexuosa, a long day plant that does not respond to vernalization. CaAGL20 was more highly expressed in long days than short days and its expression did not change in response to vernalization, indicating that its expression is correlated with flowering time, as in Arabidopsis. When the Brassica AGL20 ortholog was constitutively expressed in sense and antisense orientations using the 35S cauliflower mosaic virus promoter, some of the sense transgenic plants flowered extremely early and some of the antisense plants exhibited delayed flowering. These results suggest that the role of AGL20 is conserved in Crucifers.