BioDiscovery Institute, Department of Biological Sciences, University of North Texas, Union Circle, Denton, TX, USA.
J Exp Bot. 2018 Nov 26;69(22):5403-5417. doi: 10.1093/jxb/ery324.
Genes of the CENTRORADIALIS/TERMINAL FLOWER 1/SELF-PRUNING (CETS) family influence meristem identity by controlling the balance between indeterminate and determinate growth, thereby profoundly impacting plant architecture. Artificial selection during cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) domestication converted photoperiodic trees to the day-neutral shrubs widely cultivated today. To understand the regulation of cotton architecture and exploit these principles to enhance crop productivity, we characterized the CETS gene family from tetraploid cotton. We demonstrate that genes of the TERMINAL FLOWER 1 (TFL1)-like clade show different roles in regulating growth patterns. Cotton has five TFL1-like genes: SELF-PRUNING (GhSP) is a single gene whereas there are two TFL1-like and BROTHER OF FT (BFT)-like genes, and these duplications are specific to the cotton lineage. All genes of the cotton TFL1-like clade delay flowering when ectopically expressed in transgenic Arabidopsis, with the strongest phenotypes failing to produce functional flowers. GhSP, GhTFL1-L2, and GhBFT-L2 rescue the early flowering Attfl1-14 mutant phenotype, and the encoded polypeptides interact with a cotton FD protein. Heterologous promoter::GUS fusions illustrate differences in the regulation of these genes, suggesting that genes of the GhTFL1-like clade may not act redundantly. Characterizations of the GhCETS family provide strategies for nuanced control of plant growth.
CENTRORADIALIS/TERMINAL FLOWER 1/SELF-PRUNING（CETS）家族的基因通过控制不定芽和定芽生长之间的平衡来影响分生组织的身份，从而深刻地影响植物的结构。棉花（Gossypium hirsutum）驯化过程中的人工选择将光周期树转化为现今广泛种植的日中性灌木。为了了解棉花结构的调控机制，并利用这些原理来提高作物的生产力，我们从四倍体棉花中鉴定了 CETS 基因家族。我们证明，TFL1 类基因在调节生长模式方面具有不同的作用。棉花有五个 TFL1 类基因：SELF-PRUNING（GhSP）是一个单一的基因，而有两个 TFL1 类和 BROTHER OF FT（BFT）类基因，这些基因的重复是棉花谱系所特有的。当在拟南芥中异位表达时，棉花 TFL1 类基因家族的所有基因都会延迟开花，其中最强的表型不能产生功能性花朵。GhSP、GhTFL1-L2 和 GhBFT-L2 拯救了早期开花的 Attfl1-14 突变体表型，并且编码的多肽与棉花 FD 蛋白相互作用。异源启动子::GUS 融合表明这些基因的调控存在差异，这表明 GhTFL1 类基因家族的基因可能不会冗余地发挥作用。GhCETS 家族的特征为植物生长的精细调控提供了策略。
