Mediation of flowering by a calmodulin-dependent protein kinase

A calmodulin-dependent protein kinase (MCK1) appeared important in regulating flowering in tobacco. The expression of modified MCK1 that lacks the C-terminal including calmodulin-binding domain upsets the flowering developmental program, leading to the abortion of flower primordia initiated on the main axis of the plant and, as well, caused the prolongation of the vegetative phase in axillary buds. The abortion process of flowers began first in the developing anthers and subsequently the entire flower senesces. In axillary buds the prolonged vegetative phase was characterized by atypical elongated, narrow, twisted leaves. These results suggested a role for calmodulin-dependent protein kinase homologs in mediating flowering.     

Somatic embryogenesis and in vitro flowering inBrassica nigra

Summary This report describes a protocol for regeneration ofBrassica nigra in vitro from unorganized callus to a highly differentiated stage of flowering. Callus is initiated from seedling hypocotyl, and root explants and plantlets are obtained via somatic embryogenesis. Shoot cultures can be established from these plantlets. These shoots can either be induced to flower in vitro or rooted to produce plants which flower ex vitro. Each stage of development is marked with a specific growth regulator requirement. This has potential as a model system to understand the cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in morphogenesis, and it can be used to understand the mechanism of change of phase from vegetative to reproductive. An advantage of this system is that in vitro flowering can be obtained repeatedly in the shoots raised from the axillary buds of the flowering shoots. The protocol can also be used to procureB. nigra gametes under aseptic condition.     

A morphological study of the development of the second inflorescences in strawberry (Fragaria×ananassa Duch.)

To clarify the timing of the differentiation of the first and second inflorescences in strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.), morphological changes on shoot apices during short day and low night temperature treatments were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and optical microscopy. Axillary buds just below the first inflorescence (axillary bud 1) became visible when sepal primordia of the primary flower were differentiated. By this time, other axillary buds had already developed. Axillary bud 1 developed four leaf primordia, and then a differentiated inflorescence at its summit. The phase transition of shoot apices from the vegetative to the reproductive phase may therefore trigger the differentiation of axillary bud 1 which is destined to develop into extension crowns.     

For she that hath, to her shall be given…Implications of flowering in Anemone nemorosa L

We looked for life‐history trade‐offs between flowering, vegetative growth and somatic maintenance in the common woodland herb Anemone nemorosa. A. nemorosa forms a horizontal rhizome system consisting of previously formed annual segments and terminated by a flowering or non‐flowering shoot. Resources acquired by the aboveground parts are used for flowering, seed production, storage and growth of the annual segments. Resources stored in the rhizome during the growing period are used for preformation of buds, somatic maintenance between two growing periods and development of aboveground parts in the following spring. We hypothesised that the decision to invest in flower buds depends on the amount of resources stored in the recently formed annual segment. We also hypothesised a trade‐off between flowering and segment growth and, finally, as a consequence, we expected individual rhizomes to alternate between the flowering and the non‐flowering state. We found that segments producing flower buds were significantly longer than non‐flowering segments, indicating that resource level influences the function of the preformed buds. Contrary to our expectations, we found flowering rhizomes produced longer annual segments than non‐flowering rhizomes. We suggest the larger leaf area of flowering rhizomes and occasional abortion of flowers or seeds as possible mechanisms behind this pattern. Our study shows that even though the decision to produce a flower bud is taken in another time‐frame than that in which the actual flowering and fruiting takes place, an ostensibly inexpedient decision is changed to a neutral or even an advantageous incident.     

Bi-directional inflorescence development inArabidopsis thaliana: Acropetal initiation of flowers and basipetal initiation of paraclades

In this study we investigated Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh. inflorescence development by characterizing morphological changes at the shoot apex during the transition to flowering. Sixteen-hour photoperiods were used to synchronously induce flowering in vegetative plants grown for 30 d in non-inductive 8-h photoperiods. During the first inductive cycle, the shoot apical meristem ceased producing leaf primordia and began to produce flower primordia. The differentiation of paraclades (axillary flowering shoots), however, did not occur until after the initiation of multiple flower primordia from the shoot apical meristem. Paraclades were produced by the basipetal activation of buds from the axils of leaf primordia which had been initiated prior to photoperiodic induction. Concurrent with the activation of paraclades was the partial suppression of paraclade-associated leaf primordia, which became bract leaves. The suppression of bract-leaf primordia and the abrupt initiation of flower primordia during the first inductive photoperiod is indicative of a single phase change during the transition to flowering in photoperiodically induced Arabidopsis. Morphogenetic changes characteristic of the transition to flowering in plants grown continuously in 16-h photoperiods were qualitatively equivalent to the changes observed in plants which were photoperiodically induced after 30 d. These results suggest that Arabidopsis has only two phases of development, a vegetative phase and a reproductive phase; and that the production of flower primordia, the differentiation of paraclades from the axils of pre-existing leaf primordia and the elongation of internodes all occur during the reproductive phase.     

Growth Context and Fate of Axillary Meristems of Young Peach Trees. Influence of Parent Shoot Growth Characteristics and of Emergence Date

The relationship between several growth components of a shootand the fates of the axillary meristems (developing in the axilsof the leaves) borne by that shoot were studied, on first-ordershoots of young peach trees. A comprehensive picture of thoserelationships was obtained by a discriminant analysis. Shootgrowth at meristem emergence date was characterized by internodelength, leaf-production rate and leaf-unfolding duration. Allpossible fates of axillary meristems at the end of the growingseason (i.e. blind nodes, single vegetative or flower bud, budassociations, sylleptic or proleptic shoots) were considered.Shoot-elongation rate determined meristem fates quantitatively.The number of buds produced by a meristem increased when theshoot-elongation rate increased. Qualitatively, the fate of axillary meristems was related tothe balance between shoot-growth components. If the subtendingleaf unfolded slowly, sylleptic or proleptic shoots were morelikely to develop than bud associations, for high shoot-elongationrates; and flower buds were more frequent than vegetative buds,for low shoot-elongation rates. Compared to flower buds, blindnodes appeared for similar shoot-elongation rates but longerinternodes and lower leaf-production rates. The emergence dateslightly modified the relation between shoot growth and axillary-meristemfates, but the main features held true throughout the growingseason. The relationships between shoot growth and meristem fates mayresult from competitive interactions between the growing subtendingleaf and the developing axillary meristem. Growing conditionsmight also influence both shoot growth and meristem fates byfavouring either cell enlargement or cell division.Copyright1995, 1999 Academic Press Peach tree, Prunus persica (L.) Batsch, axillary meristem, meristem fate, branching, flowering, shoot growth, discriminant analysis, exploratory analysis     

Pleiotropic effects of flowering time genes in the annual crucifer Arabidopsis thaliana (Brassicaceae)

Variation in flowering time of Arabidopsis thaliana was studied in an experiment with mutant lines. The pleiotropic effects of flowering time genes on morphology and reproductive yield were assessed under three levels of nutrient supply. At all nutrient levels flowering time and number of rosette leaves at flowering varied among mutant lines. The relationship between these two traits depended strongly on nutrient supply. A lower nutrient supply first led to an extension of the vegetative phase, while the mean number of leaves at flowering was hardly affected. A further reduction resulted in no further extension of the vegetative phase and, on average, plants started flowering with a lower leaf number. At low nutrients, early flowering affected the timing of production of siliques rather than the total output, whereas late flowering was favorable at high nutrients. This may explain the fact that many plant species flower at a relatively small size under poor conditions. Flowering time genes had pleiotropic effects on the leaf length, number of rosette and cauline leaves, and number of axillary flowering shoots of the main inflorescence. Silique production was positively correlated with the number of axillary shoots of the main inflorescence; the number of axillary primordia appeared to have a large impact on reproductive yield.     

Changes in organ growth ofChenopodium rubrum due to suboptimal and multiple photoperiodic cycles with and without flowering effect

The growth changes of cotyledons, leaves, hypocotyls and roots due to photoperiodic induction in short day plantChenopodium rubrum were investigated in relation to flowering. Six-day old plants were induced by photoperiods with a different number of dark hours. We found that the degree of inhibition which occurred during induction in the growth of leaves, cotyledons and roots similarly as the stimulation of hypocotyl is proportional to the length of dark period. The photoperiods with 12, 16 and 20 dark hours bring about marked inhibition of growth and at the same time induce flowering in terminal and axillary meristems. The inhibitory effect of critical period for flowering,i.e. 8 dark hours, is not apparent in all criteria used and even the flower differentiation is retarded. The photoperiods of 4 and 6 dark hours did not affect growth and were ineffective in inducing flowering even if their number has been increased. The experiments with inductive photoperiod interrupted by light break have clearly shown that growth pattern characteristic for induced plants can be evoked in purely vegetative ones. Such statement did not exclude the possible importance of growth inhibition as a modifying factor of flower differentiation. We demonstrated that the early events of flower bud differentiation are accompanied by stimulation of leaf growth. The evaluation of growth and development of axillary buds at different nodes of insertion enabled us to quantify the photoperiodic effect and to detect the effects due to differences in dark period length not exceeding 2 hours.     

Changes in polyamine pattern mediates sex differentiation and unisexual flower development in monoecious cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.)

Changes in the levels of polyamines are associated with fundamental physiological processes such as embryogenesis, induction of flowering, fruit development and ripening, senescence, and responses to environmental stresses, but the role of polyamines in sex differentiation and unisexual flower development has not been deeply studied. To extend the knowledge on the regulatory mechanisms of flowering in monoecious plant (producing unisexual flowers), we investigated the morphogenesis and free polyamine levels in Cucumis sativus during sex differentiation and unisexual flower development in vitro using histocytological and biochemical methods. As shown in our study, floral development in vitro was undisturbed and flowers of both sexes were produced. Sex differentiation relied on preventing the development of generative organs of the opposite sex, as we observed carpel repression in male flowers and stamen repression in female flowers. Pollen viability was negatively correlated with female flower development on the same node. Biochemical analysis revealed increased accumulation of aliphatic amines (tri, tetra‐amines) in generative (flower buds and flowers) compare to vegetative (axillary buds and leaves) organs. Undifferentiated floral buds contained elevated levels of agmatine, cadaverine, spermidine and spermine. Sex differentiation was associated with significantly decreased levels of agmatine and cadaverine. Our results showed that female flowers contained higher levels of total polyamine than male flowers. The increased level of cadaverine was associated with macrogametogenesis and female flower maturation. Putrescine was important for male flower development. Such results support the hypothesis that aliphatic amines are involved in unisexual flower development.     

Axillary bud flowering after apical decapitation in Pharbitis in relation to photoinduction

The flowering response of axillary buds of seedlings of Pharbitis nil Choisy, cv. Violet, was examined in relation to the timing of apical bud removal (plumule including the first leaf or second leaf) before or after a flower-inductive 16-h dark period. When the apical bud was removed well before the dark period, flower buds formed on the axillary shoots that subsequently developed, but when removed just before, or after, the dark period, different results were observed depending on the timing of the apical bud removal and plant age. In the case of 8-day-old seedlings, fewer flower buds formed on the axillary shoots developing from the cotyledonary node when plumules were removed 20 to 0 h before the dark period. When the apical bud was removed after the dark period, no flower buds formed. Using 14-day-old seedlings a similar reduction of flowering response was observed on the axillary shoots developing from the first leaf node when the apical bud was removed just after the dark period. To further elucidate the relationship between apical dominance and flowering, kinetin or IAA was applied to axillary buds or the cut site where the apical bud was located. Both chemicals influenced flowering, probably by modulating apical dominance which normally forces axillary buds to be dormant.     

In vitro photoinduction of leaf tissue ofStreptocarpus nobilis

Leaf expiants from vegetative plants of the short-day plantStreptocarpus nobilis (C. B. Clarke) developed flower budsin vitro when cultured in 8 h photoperiods. Tn non-inductive photoperiods only vegetative buds were formed.In vitro photoinduction was demonstrated by giving the expiants short-day (SD) cycles and then transferring them to non-inductive photoperiods for expression of flowering. On medium containing 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) organogenesis was initiated during the photoinductive treatments. Photoinduction of leaf tissue without adventitious bud development was obtained on medium without BAP. The photoinductive state of the leaf tissue was fairly stable, being expressed after 2–3 weeks in non-inductive photoperiods when adventitious buds were formed. The quantitativein vitro flowering response to the endogenous floral stimuli, resulting from photoinduction, could provide the basis of a bioassay for presumptive flower inducing chemicals.     

枇杷成花过程叶片蛋白质变化动态

研究了温室内水分胁迫下盆栽枇杷和大田枇杷的成花和未成花枝梢叶片可溶性蛋白质含量在花芽分化过程中的变化动态,同时对成花和未成花枝梢顶芽进行特异蛋白双向凝胶电泳研究。结果表明,枇杷成花诱导需经历可溶性蛋白质含量一定程度的升高,然后急剧下降的过程,即可溶性蛋白质的升高对应成花诱导,而蛋白质的下降与形态分化紧密相关。成花植株枝梢顶芽与未成花植株枝梢顶芽的2-DE图谱总模式相同,但前者比后者多了两种蛋白质,其分子量和等电点一为MW 14110.5±110.8、pI 5.350±0.008,另一为MW 66446.3±260.9、pI 4.730±0.032,两种蛋白质均呈酸性,可能与枇杷成花密切相关。     

棉花花芽分化及部分内源激素变化规律的研究

棉花（Ｇｏｓｓｙｐｉｕｍ ｈｉｒｓｕｔｕｍ）的腋芽原基,有的将来发育成叶枝;有的将来发育成果枝。这２种不同命运的腋芽,在其刚分化的初期就表现出了不同的解剖学特征。将来发育为叶枝的腋芽,其生长锥呈圆锥形或扁圆球形,体积较小,原套层数为１－２层;而将来发育为果枝的腋芽,其生长锥为圆柱形,顶端表面平坦,体积较大,原套层数为２－３层。从子叶展平后到肉眼可见花芽（现蕾）,连续测茎尖的内源ＡＢＡ及ＩＡＡ的含量     

Axillary shoot proliferation and in vitro flowering in an adult giant bamboo, Dendrocalamus giganteus Wall. Ex Munro

Summary Continuous axillary shoot proliferation and in vitro flowering were achieved using single node explants from a mature (over 70-yr-old) field clump of Dendrocalamus giganteus (giant bamboo). The shoots proliferated in a basal Murashige and Skoog medium with 6 mgl⁻¹ (26.6 μM) N⁶-benzyladenine (BA) and 2% sucrose. The rate of shoot proliferation gradually increased to over three-fold before in vitro flowering took place. In vitro flowering was not the expression of a species-specific mechanism believed to occur during gregarious flowering, as the mother clump did not flower. The rate of shoot proliferation decreased at flowering, accompanied by reversion of flowering. The development of axillary meristems into vegetative or generative shoots depended on the level of BA. The possible role of BA, changes in the rate of shoot proliferation decreased at flowering, accompanied by reversion of flowering. The development of axillary meristems into vegetative or generative shoots depended on the level of BA. The possible role of BA, changes in the rate of shoot proliferation leading to build up, and release of stress in relation to flowering and its reversion are discussed.     

Effect of Photoperiod and Chlorogenic Acid on Morphogenesis in Leaf Discs of Streptocarpus Nobilis

Leaf discs from vegetative plants greatly increase their phenolic content when cultivated in vitro. Under long days the values remained constant, and were higher when compared with short days cultures. Under short days total phenolics decreased after 10 d, corresponding to the induction and expression of in vitro flowering. The effect of photoperiod and chlorogenic acid (0.01 mM) on leaf discs cultured from induced and non-induced plants, were analyzed regarding the neo-formation of roots, as well as vegetative and flower buds. Chlorogenic acid enhances the regeneration of roots in all treatments tested, with the highest stimulation on induced leaf discs cultivated in short days. The flowering was not affected by chlorogenic acid, but an inhibitory effect was observed on the neo-formation of vegetative buds in non-induced explants maintained in short days. Vegetative buds were reduced by 50% in flower-induced leaf discs cultivated under short days.     

矮牵牛花期一些生理指标的变化

选择了 3种颜色的矮牵牛 (PetuniahybridaVilm) :粉红色、杂色和红色 ,将其开花过程分为 4个时期 :未出现花芽、花芽期、花蕾期和开花期 ,测定各时期MDA、可溶性糖、激素水平和多胺含量等指标的变化。结果表明 ,从无花芽期到开花期MDA含量有所升高 ;可溶性糖含量呈现降低的趋势。在粉红色的矮牵牛叶片中 ,IAA含量在开花期升高 ;GA含量在无花芽期和花芽期时较高 ;而ZRs则在花蕾期较低 ,在开花期时含量上升。 3种多胺含量的变化不同 ,腐胺在整个花期略有上升 ,精胺和亚精胺则略有下降