Dataset Information

The Evolution of Photoperiod-Insensitive Flowering in Sorghum, A Genomic Model for Panicoid Grasses.

ABSTRACT: Of central importance in adapting plants of tropical origin to temperate cultivation has been selection of daylength-neutral genotypes that flower early in the temperate summer and take full advantage of its long days. A cross between tropical and temperate sorghums [Sorghum propinquum (Kunth) Hitchc.×S. bicolor (L.) Moench], revealed a quantitative trait locus (QTL), FlrAvgD1, accounting for 85.7% of variation in flowering time under long days. Fine-scale genetic mapping placed FlrAvgD1 on chromosome 6 within the physically largest centiMorgan in the genome. Forward genetic data from "converted" sorghums validated the QTL. Association genetic evidence from a diversity panel delineated the QTL to a 10-kb interval containing only one annotated gene, Sb06g012260, that was shown by reverse genetics to complement a recessive allele. Sb06g012260 (SbFT12) contains a phosphatidylethanolamine-binding (PEBP) protein domain characteristic of members of the "FT" family of flowering genes acting as a floral suppressor. Sb06g012260 appears to have evolved ?40?Ma in a panicoid ancestor after divergence from oryzoid and pooid lineages. A species-specific Sb06g012260 mutation may have contributed to spread to temperate regions by S. halepense ("Johnsongrass"), one of the world's most widespread invasives. Alternative alleles for another family member, Sb02g029725 (SbFT6), mapping near another flowering QTL, also showed highly significant association with photoperiod response index (P?=?1.53×10?(-)? (6)). The evolution of Sb06g012260 adds to evidence that single gene duplicates play large roles in important environmental adaptations. Increased knowledge of Sb06g012260 opens new doors to improvement of sorghum and other grain and cellulosic biomass crops.

SUBMITTER: Cuevas HE

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4989116 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

The Evolution of Photoperiod-Insensitive Flowering in Sorghum, A Genomic Model for Panicoid Grasses.

Cuevas Hugo E HE Zhou Chengbo C Tang Haibao H Khadke Prashant P PP Das Sayan S Lin Yann-Rong YR Ge Zhengxiang Z Clemente Thomas T Upadhyaya Hari D HD Hash C Thomas CT Paterson Andrew H AH

Molecular biology and evolution 20160622 9

Of central importance in adapting plants of tropical origin to temperate cultivation has been selection of daylength-neutral genotypes that flower early in the temperate summer and take full advantage of its long days. A cross between tropical and temperate sorghums [Sorghum propinquum (Kunth) Hitchc.×S. bicolor (L.) Moench], revealed a quantitative trait locus (QTL), FlrAvgD1, accounting for 85.7% of variation in flowering time under long days. Fine-scale genetic mapping placed FlrAvgD1 on chro ...[more]

PMID: 27335143

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Project description:BackgroundSorghum genotypes used for grain production in temperate regions are photoperiod insensitive and flower early avoiding adverse environments during the reproductive phase. In contrast, energy sorghum hybrids are highly photoperiod sensitive with extended vegetative phases in long days, resulting in enhanced biomass accumulation. SbPRR37 and SbGHD7 contribute to photoperiod sensitivity in sorghum by repressing expression of SbEHD1 and FT-like genes, thereby delaying flowering in long days with minimal influence in short days (PNAS_108:16469-16474, 2011; Plant Genome_in press, 2014). The GIGANTEA (GI)-CONSTANS (CO)-FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) pathway regulates flowering time in Arabidopsis and the grasses (J Exp Bot_62:2453-2463, 2011). In long day flowering plants, such as Arabidopsis and barley, CONSTANS activates FT expression and flowering in long days. In rice, a short day flowering plant, Hd1, the ortholog of CONSTANS, activates flowering in short days and represses flowering in long days.ResultsQuantitative trait loci (QTL) that modify flowering time in sorghum were identified by screening Recombinant Inbred Lines (RILs) derived from BTx642 and Tx7000 in long days, short days, and under field conditions. Analysis of the flowering time QTL on SBI-10 revealed that BTx642 encodes a recessive CONSTANS allele containing a His106Tyr substitution in B-box 2 known to inactivate CONSTANS in Arabidopsis thaliana. Genetic analysis characterized sorghum CONSTANS as a floral activator that promotes flowering by inducing the expression of EARLY HEADING DATE 1 (SbEHD1) and sorghum orthologs of the maize FT genes ZCN8 (SbCN8) and ZCN12 (SbCN12). The floral repressor PSEUDORESPONSE REGULATOR PROTEIN 37 (PRR37) inhibits sorghum CONSTANS activity and flowering in long days.ConclusionSorghum CONSTANS is an activator of flowering that is repressed post-transcriptionally in long days by the floral inhibitor PRR37, contributing to photoperiod sensitive flowering in Sorghum bicolor, a short day plant.

Project description:BackgroundThe circadian clock drives endogenous 24-h rhythms that allow organisms to adapt and prepare for predictable and repeated changes in their environment throughout the day-night (diurnal) cycle. Many components of the circadian clock in Arabidopsis thaliana have been functionally characterized, but comparatively little is known about circadian clocks in grass species including major crops like maize and sorghum.ResultsComparative research based on protein homology and diurnal gene expression patterns suggests the function of some predicted clock components in grasses is conserved with their Arabidopsis counterparts, while others have diverged in function. Our analysis of diurnal gene expression in three panicoid grasses sorghum, maize, and foxtail millet revealed conserved and divergent evolution of expression for core circadian clock genes and for the overall transcriptome. We find that several classes of core circadian clock genes in these grasses differ in copy number compared to Arabidopsis, but mostly exhibit conservation of both protein sequence and diurnal expression pattern with the notable exception of maize paralogous genes. We predict conserved cis-regulatory motifs shared between maize, sorghum, and foxtail millet through identification of diurnal co-expression clusters for a subset of 27,196 orthologous syntenic genes. In this analysis, a Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel based method to control for background variation identified significant enrichment for both expected and novel 6-8 nucleotide motifs in the promoter regions of genes with shared diurnal regulation predicted to function in common physiological activities.ConclusionsThis study illustrates the divergence and conservation of circadian clocks and diurnal regulatory networks across syntenic orthologous genes in panacoid grass species. Further, conserved local regulatory sequences contribute to the architecture of these diurnal regulatory networks that produce conserved patterns of diurnal gene expression.

Project description:Background and aimsThe success of C4 plants lies in their ability to attain greater efficiencies of light, water and nitrogen use under high temperature, providing an advantage in arid, hot environments. However, C4 grasses are not necessarily less sensitive to drought than C3 grasses and are proposed to respond with greater metabolic limitations, while the C3 response is predominantly stomatal. The aims of this study were to compare the drought and recovery responses of co-occurring C3 and C4 NADP-ME grasses from the subfamily Panicoideae and to determine stomatal and metabolic contributions to the observed response.MethodsSix species of locally co-occurring grasses, C3) species Alloteropsis semialata subsp. eckloniana, Panicum aequinerve and Panicum ecklonii, and C4 (NADP-ME) species Heteropogon contortus, Themeda triandra and Tristachya leucothrix, were established in pots then subjected to a controlled drought followed by re-watering. Water potentials, leaf gas exchange and the response of photosynthetic rate to internal CO2 concentrations were determined on selected occasions during the drought and re-watering treatments and compared between species and photosynthetic types.Key resultsLeaves of C4 species of grasses maintained their photosynthetic advantage until water deficits became severe, but lost their water-use advantage even under conditions of mild drought. Declining C4 photosynthesis with water deficit was mainly a consequence of metabolic limitations to CO2 assimilation, whereas, in the C3 species, stomatal limitations had a prevailing role in the drought-induced decrease in photosynthesis. The drought-sensitive metabolism of the C4 plants could explain the observed slower recovery of photosynthesis on re-watering, in comparison with C3 plants which recovered a greater proportion of photosynthesis through increased stomatal conductance.ConclusionsWithin the Panicoid grasses, C4 (NADP-ME) species are metabolically more sensitive to drought than C3 species and recover more slowly from drought.

Dataset Information

The Evolution of Photoperiod-Insensitive Flowering in Sorghum, A Genomic Model for Panicoid Grasses.

Publications

The Evolution of Photoperiod-Insensitive Flowering in Sorghum, A Genomic Model for Panicoid Grasses.

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