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A molecular framework for seasonal growth-dormancy regulation in perennial plants.

ABSTRACT: The timing of the onset and release of dormancy impacts the survival, productivity and spatial distribution of temperate horticultural and forestry perennials and is mediated by at least three main regulatory programs involving signal perception and processing by phytochromes (PHYs) and PHY-interacting transcription factors (PIFs). PIF4 functions as a key regulator of plant growth in response to both external and internal signals. In poplar, the expression of PIF4 and PIF3-LIKE1 is upregulated in response to short days, while PHYA and PHYB are not regulated at the transcriptional level. Integration of light and environmental signals is achieved by gating the expression and transcriptional activity of PIF4. During this annual cycle, auxin promotes the degradation of Aux/IAA transcriptional repressors through the SKP-Cullin-F-boxTIR1 complex, relieving the repression of auxin-responsive genes by allowing auxin response factors (ARFs) to activate the transcription of auxin-responsive genes involved in growth responses. Analyses of transcriptome changes during dormancy transitions have identified MADS-box transcription factors associated with endodormancy induction. Previous studies show that poplar dormancy-associated MADS-box (DAM) genes PtMADS7 and PtMADS21 are differentially regulated during the growth-dormancy cycle. Endodormancy may be regulated by internal factors, which are specifically localized in buds. PtMADS7/PtMADS21 may function as an internal regulator in poplar. The control of flowering time shares certain regulatory hierarchies with control of the dormancy/growth cycle. However, the particularities of different stages of the dormancy/growth cycle warrant comprehensive approaches to identify the causative genes for the entire cycle. A growing body of knowledge also indicates epigenetic regulation plays a role in these processes in perennial horticultural and forestry plants. The increased knowledge contributes to better understanding of the dormancy process and consequently to precise manipulation of dormancy-related horticultural traits, such as flowering time.

SUBMITTER: Shim D

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4591672 | biostudies-other | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Project description:In perennial plants, interactions with other community members during the vegetative growth phase may influence community assembly during subsequent reproductive years and may influence plant fitness. It is well-known that plant responses to herbivory affect community assembly within a growing season, but whether plant-herbivore interactions result in legacy effects on community assembly across seasons has received little attention. Moreover, whether plant-herbivore interactions during the vegetative growing season are important in predicting plant fitness directly or indirectly through legacy effects is poorly understood.Here, we tested whether plant-arthropod interactions in the vegetative growing season of perennial wild cabbage plants, Brassica oleracea, result in legacy effects in arthropod community assembly in the subsequent reproductive season and whether legacy effects have plant fitness consequences. We monitored the arthropod community on plants that had been induced with either aphids, caterpillars or no herbivores in a full-factorial design across 2 years. We quantified the plant traits 'height', 'number of leaves' and 'number of flowers' to understand mechanisms that may mediate legacy effects. We measured seed production in the second year to evaluate plant fitness consequences of legacy effects.Although we did not find community responses to the herbivory treatments, our data show that community composition in the first year leaves a legacy on community composition in a second year: predator community composition co-varied across years. Structural equation modelling analyses indicated that herbivore communities in the vegetative year correlated with plant performance traits that may have caused a legacy effect on especially predator community assembly in the subsequent reproductive year. Interestingly, the legacy of the herbivore community in the vegetative year predicted plant fitness better than the herbivore community that directly interacted with plants in the reproductive year. Synthesis. Thus, legacy effects of plant-herbivore interactions affect community assembly on perennial plants across growth seasons and these processes may affect plant reproductive success. We argue that plant-herbivore interactions in the vegetative phase as well as in the cross-seasonal legacy effects caused by plant responses to arthropod herbivory may be important in perennial plant trait evolution such as ontogenetic variation in growth and defence strategies.

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A molecular framework for seasonal growth-dormancy regulation in perennial plants.

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