title: Comparative analysis of FLC homologues in Brassicaceae provides insight into their role in the evolution of oilseed rape.
abstract: We identified nine FLOWERING LOCUS C homologues (BnFLC) in Brassica napus and found that the coding sequences of all BnFLCs were relatively conserved but the intronic and promoter regions were more divergent. The BnFLC homologues were mapped to six of 19 chromosomes. All of the BnFLC homologues were located in the collinear region of FLC in the Arabidopsis genome except BnFLC.A3b and BnFLC.C3b, which were mapped to noncollinear regions of chromosome A3 and C3, respectively. Four of the homologues were associated significantly with quantitative trait loci for flowering time in two mapping populations. The BnFLC homologues showed distinct expression patterns in vegetative and reproductive organs, and at different developmental stages. BnFLC.A3b was differentially expressed between the winter-type and semi-winter-type cultivars. Microsynteny analysis indicated that BnFLC.A3b might have been translocated to the present segment in a cluster with other flowering-time regulators, such as a homologue of FRIGIDA in Arabidopsis. This cluster of flowering-time genes might have conferred a selective advantage to Brassica species in terms of increased adaptability to diverse environments during their evolution and domestication process.
authors.affiliation: National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China.
authors.forename: Xiaoxiao
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zou
authors.forename: Ida
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Suppanz
authors.forename: Harsh
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Raman
authors.forename: Jinna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hou
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Long
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.forename: Jinling
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Meng
mesh_terms: D017398:Alternative Splicing; D001483:Base Sequence; D029688:Brassica napus / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D032461:Chromosomes, Plant / Q000235:genetics; D017124:Conserved Sequence; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D026161:MADS Domain Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D005810:Multigene Family; D010802:Phylogeny; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D040641:Quantitative Trait Loci; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D026801:Synteny
chemical_list: D026161:MADS Domain Proteins; D010940:Plant Proteins