title: The role of a pseudo-response regulator gene in life cycle adaptation and domestication of beet.
abstract: Life cycle adaptation to latitudinal and seasonal variation in photoperiod and temperature is a major determinant of evolutionary success in flowering plants. Whereas the life cycle of the dicotyledonous model species Arabidopsis thaliana is controlled by two epistatic genes, FLOWERING LOCUS C and FRIGIDA, three unrelated loci (VERNALIZATION) determine the spring and winter habits of monocotyledonous plants such as temperate cereals. In the core eudicot species Beta vulgaris, whose lineage diverged from that leading to Arabidopsis shortly after the monocot-dicot split 140 million years ago, the bolting locus B is a master switch distinguishing annuals from biennials. Here, we isolated B and show that the pseudo-response regulator gene BOLTING TIME CONTROL 1 (BvBTC1), through regulation of the FLOWERING LOCUS T genes, is absolutely necessary for flowering and mediates the response to both long days and vernalization. Our results suggest that domestication of beets involved the selection of a rare partial loss-of-function BvBTC1 allele that imparts reduced sensitivity to photoperiod that is restored by vernalization, thus conferring bienniality, and illustrate how evolutionary plasticity at a key regulatory point can enable new life cycle strategies.
authors.affiliation: Umeå Plant Science Centre, Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 901 83 Umeå, Sweden.
authors.forename: Pierre A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Pin
authors.forename: Wenying
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Sebastian H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Vogt
authors.forename: Nadine
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Dally
authors.forename: Bianca
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Büttner
authors.forename: Gretel
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Schulze-Buxloh
authors.forename: Noémie S
authors.initials: NS
authors.lastname: Jelly
authors.forename: Tansy Y P
authors.initials: TY
authors.lastname: Chia
authors.forename: Effie S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Mutasa-Göttgens
authors.forename: Juliane C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Dohm
authors.forename: Heinz
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Himmelbauer
authors.forename: Bernd
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Weisshaar
authors.forename: Josef
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kraus
authors.forename: Jan J L
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Gielen
authors.forename: Murielle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lommel
authors.forename: Guy
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Weyens
authors.forename: Bettina
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wahl
authors.forename: Axel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schechert
authors.forename: Ove
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Nilsson
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kraft
authors.forename: Andreas E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Müller
mesh_terms: D000220:Adaptation, Biological / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D000383:Agriculture / Q000379:methods*; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D054458:Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism Analysis; D001483:Base Sequence; D027461:Beta vulgaris / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D005075:Biological Evolution; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D022202:Chromosomes, Artificial, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000235:genetics; D035264:Flowers / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D005809:Genes, Regulator / Q000235:genetics*; D005819:Genetic Markers / Q000235:genetics; D006239:Haplotypes / Q000235:genetics; D015151:Immunoblotting; D008954:Models, Biological; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010641:Phenotype; D017440:Photoperiod; D010802:Phylogeny; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D012621:Seasons; D012641:Selection, Genetic; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D005819:Genetic Markers; D010940:Plant Proteins