title: The Vaccinium corymbosum FLOWERING LOCUS T-like gene (VcFT): a flowering activator reverses photoperiodic and chilling requirements in blueberry.
abstract: CONCLUSIONS
  The blueberry FLOWERING LOCUS T ( FT )-like gene ( VcFT ) cloned from the cDNA of a tetraploid, northern highbush blueberry ( Vaccinium corymbosum L.) is able to reverse the photoperiodic and chilling requirements and drive early and continuous flowering.
  Blueberry is a woody perennial bush with a longer juvenile period than annual crops, requiring vernalization to flower normally. Few studies have been reported on the molecular mechanism of flowering in blueberry or other woody plants. Because FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) from Arabidopsis thaliana plays a multifaceted role in generating mobile molecular signals to regulate plant flowering time, isolation and functional analysis of the blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.) FT-like gene (VcFT) will facilitate the elucidation of molecular mechanisms of flowering in woody plants. Based on EST sequences, a 525-bpVcFT was identified and cloned from the cDNA of a tetraploid, northern highbush blueberry cultivar, Bluecrop. Ectopic expression of 35S:VcFT in tobacco induced flowering an average of 28 days earlier than wild-type plants. Expression of the 35S:VcFT in the blueberry cultivar Aurora resulted in an extremely early flowering phenotype, which flowered not only during in vitro culture, a growth stage when nontransgenic shoots had not yet flowered, but also in 6-10-week old, soil-grown transgenic plants, in contrast to the fact that at least 1 year and 800 chilling hours are required for the appearance of the first flower of both nontransgenic 'Aurora' and transgenic controls with the gusA. These results demonstrate that the VcFT is a functional floral activator and overexpression of the VcFT is able to reverse the photoperiodic and chilling requirements and drive early and continuous flowering.
authors.affiliation: Plant Biotechnology Resource and Outreach Center, Department of Horticulture, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA, songg@msu.edu.
authors.forename: Guo-qing
authors.initials: GQ
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Aaron
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Walworth
authors.forename: Dongyan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Ning
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: James F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Hancock
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D029798:Blueberry Plants / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D003080:Cold Temperature; D035264:Flowers / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology*; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D017343:Genes, Plant / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010641:Phenotype; D017440:Photoperiod; D010802:Phylogeny; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D014026:Nicotiana / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D010940:Plant Proteins
references.citation: Plant Cell. 2011 Apr;23(4):1307-21
references.pmid: 21498681
references.citation: Curr Opin Plant Biol. 2008 Oct;11(5):541-7
references.pmid: 18691931
references.citation: Trends Genet. 2010 Dec;26(12):519-27
references.pmid: 20947199
references.citation: Physiol Plant. 2007 Nov;131(3):481-95
references.pmid: 18251886
references.citation: Physiol Plant. 2011 Apr;141(4):383-93
references.pmid: 21241311
references.citation: Ann Bot. 2009 Jun;103(8):1165-72
references.pmid: 19304997
references.citation: Science. 1999 Dec 3;286(5446):1960-2
references.pmid: 10583960
references.citation: Plant Mol Biol. 2011 May;76(1-2):187-204
references.pmid: 21533840
references.citation: Plant Cell Rep. 2004 Dec;23(7):475-84
references.pmid: 15300402
references.citation: Plant J. 2010 May 1;62(4):674-88
references.pmid: 20202169
references.citation: Science. 2000 Jun 2;288(5471):1613-6
references.pmid: 10834834
references.citation: PLoS One. 2012;7(7):e40715
references.pmid: 22859952
references.citation: Curr Opin Plant Biol. 2011 Apr;14(2):174-8
references.pmid: 21470900
references.citation: Curr Opin Plant Biol. 2012 Feb;15(1):45-50
references.pmid: 21974961
references.citation: J Exp Bot. 2007;58(14):3915-27
references.pmid: 18000016
references.citation: Plant Cell. 1999 May;11(5):949-56
references.pmid: 10330478
references.citation: Tree Physiol. 2011 May;31(5):555-66
references.pmid: 21571725
references.citation: J Exp Bot. 2010 Jun;61(10):2549-60
references.pmid: 20406786
references.citation: Science. 1999 Dec 3;286(5446):1962-5
references.pmid: 10583961
references.citation: Science. 1985 Mar 8;227(4691):1229-31
references.pmid: 17757866
references.citation: Science. 2000 Oct 13;290(5490):344-7
references.pmid: 11030654
references.citation: Planta. 2010 Jan;231(2):251-63
references.pmid: 19902244
references.citation: Exp Cell Res. 1968 Apr;50(1):151-8
references.pmid: 5650857
references.citation: Planta. 2009 Mar;229(4):847-59
references.pmid: 19125288
references.citation: J Exp Bot. 2010 May;61(9):2247-54
references.pmid: 20413527
references.citation: Science. 2005 Aug 12;309(5737):1052-6
references.pmid: 16099979
references.citation: J Exp Bot. 2008;59(12):3215-28
references.pmid: 18653697
references.citation: Plant Cell. 2006 Aug;18(8):1846-61
references.pmid: 16844908
references.citation: Transgenic Res. 2005 Oct;14(5):703-12
references.pmid: 16245161
references.citation: Plant Cell Environ. 2012 Oct;35(10):1742-55
references.pmid: 22697796
references.citation: Trends Plant Sci. 2007 Aug;12(8):352-7
references.pmid: 17629542
references.citation: Mol Biol Evol. 2011 Oct;28(10):2731-9
references.pmid: 21546353
references.citation: Science. 2005 Aug 12;309(5737):1056-9
references.pmid: 16099980
references.citation: Tree Physiol. 2008 Oct;28(10):1459-66
references.pmid: 18708327
references.citation: Planta. 2012 Jun;235(6):1239-51
references.pmid: 22203321
references.citation: Science. 2010 Dec 3;330(6009):1397-400
references.pmid: 21127254
references.citation: Plant J. 2000 Dec;24(5):591-9
references.pmid: 11123798
references.citation: J Plant Physiol. 2011 Nov 1;168(16):1980-6
references.pmid: 21807438
references.citation: Plant Cell. 2011 Jan;23(1):130-46
references.pmid: 21282527
references.citation: Science. 2006 May 19;312(5776):1040-3
references.pmid: 16675663
references.citation: Plant Cell Physiol. 2010 Apr;51(4):561-75
references.pmid: 20189942
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2011 Jun 28;108(26):10756-61
references.pmid: 21653885
references.citation: Plant Cell. 2004 Jun;16(6):1490-505
references.pmid: 15155884
references.citation: Plant Cell Physiol. 2011 Jun;52(6):1031-41
references.pmid: 21531759
references.citation: Mol Genet Genomics. 2010 Mar;283(3):233-41
references.pmid: 20098998
references.citation: Curr Opin Plant Biol. 2009 Feb;12(1):75-80
references.pmid: 18938104
references.citation: Nature. 2009 May 21;459(7245):423-7
references.pmid: 19369938
references.citation: Nucleic Acids Res. 1994 Nov 11;22(22):4673-80
references.pmid: 7984417
references.citation: Plant Mol Biol. 2007 Mar;63(5):637-50
references.pmid: 17160562
references.citation: Plant J. 2010 Mar;61(6):1001-13
references.pmid: 20409274
references.citation: Planta. 2010 Nov;232(6):1309-24
references.pmid: 20811751