title: Overexpression of two PsnAP1 genes from Populus simonii × P. nigra causes early flowering in transgenic tobacco and Arabidopsis.
abstract: In Arabidopsis, AP1 is a floral meristem identity gene and plays an important role in floral organ development. In this study, PsnAP1-1 and PsnAP1-2 were isolated from the male reproductive buds of poplar (Populus simonii × P. nigra), which are the orthologs of AP1 in Arabidopsis, by sequence analysis. Northern blot and qRT-PCR analysis showed that PsnAP1-1 and PsnAP1-2 exhibited high expression level in early inflorescence development of poplar. Subcellular localization showed the PsnAP1-1 and PsnAP1-2 proteins are localized in the nucleus. Overexpression of PsnAP1-1 and PsnAP1-2 in tobacco under the control of a CaMV 35S promoter significantly enhanced early flowering. These transgenic plants also showed much earlier stem initiation and higher rates of photosynthesis than did wild-type tobacco. qRT-PCR analysis further indicated that overexpression of PsnAP1-1 and PsnAP1-2 resulted in up-regulation of genes related to flowering, such as NtMADS4, NtMADS5 and NtMADS11. Overexpression of PsnAP1-1 and PsnAP1-2 in Arabidopsis also induced early flowering, but did not complement the ap1-10 floral morphology to any noticeable extent. This study indicates that PsnAP1-1 and PsnAP1-2 play a role in floral transition of poplar.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Tree Genetics and Breeding (Northeast Forestry University), Harbin, China.
authors.forename: Tangchun
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Tree Genetics and Breeding (Northeast Forestry University), Harbin, China.
authors.forename: Shuang
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Tree Genetics and Breeding (Northeast Forestry University), Harbin, China.
authors.forename: Lina
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Tree Genetics and Breeding (Northeast Forestry University), Harbin, China.
authors.forename: Lijuan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Dai
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Tree Genetics and Breeding (Northeast Forestry University), Harbin, China.
authors.forename: Chuanping
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Tree Genetics and Breeding (Northeast Forestry University), Harbin, China.
authors.forename: Guan-Zheng
authors.initials: GZ
authors.lastname: Qu
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics*; D015152:Blotting, Northern; D002734:Chlorophyll / Q000378:metabolism; D003433:Crosses, Genetic; D035264:Flowers / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D017343:Genes, Plant; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation / Q000235:genetics; D010641:Phenotype; D010788:Photosynthesis; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified; D032107:Populus / Q000235:genetics*; D021381:Protein Transport; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D013347:Subcellular Fractions / Q000378:metabolism; D014026:Nicotiana / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D010940:Plant Proteins; D002734:Chlorophyll