Key Laboratory of Soybean Molecular Design Breeding, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Innovation Academy for Seed Design, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Harbin, 150081, China.
Hybrid Rapeseed Research Center of Shaanxi Province, Yangling, 712100, China.
Sci China Life Sci. 2022 Dec;65(12):2472-2490. doi: 10.1007/s11427-022-2117-x. Epub 2022 Jul 1.
The soybean E1 gene is a major regulator that plays an important role in flowering time and maturity. However, it remains unclear how cultivars carrying the dominant E1 allele adapt to the higher latitudinal areas of northern China. We mapped the novel quantitative trait locus QNE1 (QTL near E1) for flowering time to the region proximal to E1 on chromosome 6 in two mapping populations. Positional cloning revealed Glyma.06G204300, encoding a TCP-type transcription factor, as a strong candidate gene for QNE1. Association analysis further confirmed that functional single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at nucleotides 686 and 1,063 in the coding region of Glyma.06G204300 were significantly associated with flowering time. The protein encoded by the candidate gene is localized primarily to the nucleus. Furthermore, soybean and Brassica napus plants overexpressing Glyma.06G204300 exhibited early flowering. We conclude that despite their similar effects on flowering time, QNE1 and E4 may control flowering time through different regulatory mechanisms, based on expression studies and weighted gene co-expression network analysis of flowering time-related genes. Deciphering the molecular basis of QNE1 control of flowering time enriches our knowledge of flowering gene networks in soybean and will facilitate breeding soybean cultivars with broader latitudinal adaptation.
大豆 E1 基因是一个主要的调控因子，在开花时间和成熟度方面起着重要作用。然而，携带显性 E1 等位基因的品种如何适应中国北方高纬度地区还不清楚。我们在两个作图群体中将开花时间的新数量性状位点 QNE1（E1 附近 QTL）映射到 6 号染色体 E1 近端区域。定位克隆揭示 Glyma.06G204300，一种 TCP 型转录因子，是 QNE1 的一个强候选基因。关联分析进一步证实 Glyma.06G204300 编码区核苷酸 686 和 1063 的功能单核苷酸多态性（SNP）与开花时间显著相关。候选基因编码的蛋白质主要定位于细胞核。此外，过表达 Glyma.06G204300 的大豆和油菜植物表现出早期开花。我们得出结论，尽管 QNE1 和 E4 对开花时间的影响相似，但根据对开花时间相关基因的表达研究和加权基因共表达网络分析，它们可能通过不同的调控机制控制开花时间。解析 QNE1 对开花时间的调控的分子基础丰富了我们对大豆开花基因网络的认识，并将促进具有更广泛纬度适应能力的大豆品种的培育。
