Dataset Information

Recent advancements to study flowering time in almond and other Prunus species.

ABSTRACT: Flowering time is an important agronomic trait in almond since it is decisive to avoid the late frosts that affect production in early flowering cultivars. Evaluation of this complex trait is a long process because of the prolonged juvenile period of trees and the influence of environmental conditions affecting gene expression year by year. Consequently, flowering time has to be studied for several years to have statistical significant results. This trait is the result of the interaction between chilling and heat requirements. Flowering time is a polygenic trait with high heritability, although a major gene Late blooming (Lb) was described in "Tardy Nonpareil." Molecular studies at DNA level confirmed this polygenic nature identifying several genome regions (Quantitative Trait Loci, QTL) involved. Studies about regulation of gene expression are scarcer although several transcription factors have been described as responsible for flowering time. From the metabolomic point of view, the integrated analysis of the mechanisms of accumulation of cyanogenic glucosides and flowering regulation through transcription factors open new possibilities in the analysis of this complex trait in almond and in other Prunus species (apricot, cherry, peach, plum). New opportunities are arising from the integration of recent advancements including phenotypic, genetic, genomic, transcriptomic, and metabolomics studies from the beginning of dormancy until flowering.

SUBMITTER: Sanchez-Perez R

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4093751 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Recent advancements to study flowering time in almond and other Prunus species.

Sánchez-Pérez Raquel R Del Cueto Jorge J Dicenta Federico F Martínez-Gómez Pedro P

Frontiers in plant science 20140711

Flowering time is an important agronomic trait in almond since it is decisive to avoid the late frosts that affect production in early flowering cultivars. Evaluation of this complex trait is a long process because of the prolonged juvenile period of trees and the influence of environmental conditions affecting gene expression year by year. Consequently, flowering time has to be studied for several years to have statistical significant results. This trait is the result of the interaction between ...[more]

PMID: 25071812

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Project description:Spring frost is a growing risk to temperate fruit production as warmer winter conditions can lead to earlier bloom, increasing the chance of damaging cold temperatures. One strategy to minimize the impacts of frost is to breed late-flowering cultivars to avoid the frost risk period. In this study, we analyzed Late-Flowering Peach (LFP) germplasm and showed its floral buds require longer chilling and warming periods during dormancy than the control cultivar, ‘John Boy’ (JB). We identified a 983-bp deletion in an AP2 gene, dubbed euAP2a, present only in LFP but not in 14 other peach genomes analyzed. This mutation eliminates an miR172 binding site, possibly allowing the euAP2a transcript to accumulate preferentially during chilling. These findings together with an early report that a deletion in the same euAP2a causes increasing floral petals, a morphological mark that also occurs in LFP, implies that the 983-bp deletion may contribute to the late-flowering phenotype. Furthermore, RNAseq data revealed that that two chilling- and three warm-responsive co-expression modules, which were collectively composed of 2,931 genes, were differentially activated at four of 13 dormancy stages. This activation was concurrent with a transient, stage-specific down-regulation of euAP2a. However, the mutated euAP2a in LFP did not exhibit the periodic downregulation events observed in JB and the concurrent activation of the five modules, leading to potential loss of activation of two chilling-responsive modules and an 8–12-day delay of three warm-responsive modules, which corresponds to the longer chilling requirement and delayed flowering time in the LFP buds. These findings support euAP2a as a potential regulator to control both floral development and bloom time in peach. Our findings provide important insight into the mechanisms underlying flowering time in peach, as well as a novel regulatory pathway that may operate in other plants. The results provide new insights to facilitate the breeding of new cultivars with late-flowering frost-avoidance traits.

Dataset Information

Recent advancements to study flowering time in almond and other Prunus species.

Publications

Recent advancements to study flowering time in almond and other Prunus species.

Similar Datasets

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