Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.
Ann Bot. 2018 Jan 25;121(1):183-191. doi: 10.1093/aob/mcx132.
Two critical developmental transitions in plants are seed germination and flowering, and the timing of these transitions has strong fitness consequences. How genetically independent the regulation of these transitions is can influence the expression of life cycles.
This study tested whether genes in the autonomous flowering-time pathway pleiotropically regulate flowering time and seed germination in the genetic model Arabidopsis thaliana, and tested whether the interactions among those genes are concordant between flowering and germination stages.
Several autonomous-pathway genes promote flowering and impede germination. Moreover, the interactions among those genes were highly concordant between the regulation of flowering and germination.
Despite some degree of functional divergence between the regulation of flowering and germination by autonomous-pathway genes, the autonomous pathway is highly functionally conserved across life stages. Therefore, genes in the autonomous flowering-time pathway are likely to contribute to genetic correlations between flowering and seed germination, possibly contributing to the winter-annual life history.
植物中有两个关键的发育转变,即种子萌发和开花,而这些转变的时间对适应性有重要影响。这些转变的调控在多大程度上是相互独立的,会影响生命周期的表现。
本研究检测了拟南芥这一遗传模式植物中自主开花时间途径中的基因是否会对开花时间和种子萌发产生多效性调控,并检测这些基因之间的相互作用在开花和萌发阶段是否一致。
几个自主途径基因会促进开花并阻碍萌发。此外,这些基因之间的相互作用在开花和萌发的调控中高度一致。
尽管自主途径基因对开花和萌发的调控存在一定程度的功能分化,但自主途径在生命阶段具有高度的功能保守性。因此,自主开花时间途径中的基因可能会导致开花和种子萌发之间存在遗传相关性,这可能有助于植物形成冬季一年生的生活史。