title: Genetic interactions between diverged alleles of Early heading date 1 (Ehd1) and Heading date 3a (Hd3a)/ RICE FLOWERING LOCUS T1 (RFT1) control differential heading and contribute to regional adaptation in rice (Oryza sativa).
abstract: Initiation of flowering, also called heading, in rice (Oryza sativa) is determined by the florigens encoded by Heading date 3a (Hd3a) and RICE FLOWERING LOCUS T1 (RFT1). Early heading date 1 (Ehd1) regulates Hd3a and RFT1. However, different rice varieties have diverged alleles of Ehd1 and Hd3a/RFT1 and their genetic interactions remain largely unclear. Here we generated three segregating populations for different combinations of diverged Ehd1 and Hd3a/RFT1 alleles, and analyzed their genetic interactions between these alleles. We demonstrated that, in an ehd1 mutant background, Hd3a was silenced, but RFT1 was expressed (although at lower levels than in plants with a functional Ehd1) under short-day (SD) and long-day (LD) conditions. We identified a nonfunctional RFT1 allele (rft1); the lines carrying homozygous ehd1 and Hd3a/rft1 failed to induce the floral transition under SD and LD conditions. Like Hd3a, RFT1 also interacted with 14-3-3 proteins, the florigen receptors, but a nonfunctional RFT1 with a crucial E105K mutation failed to interact with 14-3-3 proteins. Furthermore, analyses of sequence variation and geographic distribution suggested that functional RFT1 alleles were selected during rice adaptation to high-latitude regions. Our results demonstrate the important roles of RFT1 in rice flowering and regional adaptation.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-bioresources, College of Life Sciences, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510642, China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-bioresources, College of Life Sciences, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510642, China.
authors.forename: Hongyi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-bioresources, College of Life Sciences, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510642, China.
authors.forename: Ding
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-bioresources, College of Life Sciences, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510642, China.
authors.forename: Huiwu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-bioresources, College of Life Sciences, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510642, China.
authors.forename: Rong
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Qiu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-bioresources, College of Life Sciences, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510642, China.
authors.forename: Jinglei
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-bioresources, College of Life Sciences, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510642, China.
authors.forename: Yunming
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Long
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-bioresources, College of Life Sciences, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510642, China.
authors.forename: Baixiao
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Niu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-bioresources, College of Life Sciences, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510642, China.
authors.forename: Danping
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-bioresources, College of Life Sciences, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510642, China.
authors.forename: Tianyu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Zhong
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-bioresources, College of Life Sciences, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510642, China.
authors.forename: Yao-Guang
authors.initials: YG
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-bioresources, College of Life Sciences, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510642, China.
authors.forename: Jingxin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Guo
mesh_terms: D048948:14-3-3 Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D000064:Acclimatization / Q000235:genetics*; D000383:Agriculture; D000483:Alleles; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D017343:Genes, Plant; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D012275:Oryza / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D048948:14-3-3 Proteins
keywords: RICE FLOWERING LOCUS T1 (RFT1); florigen; heading date; natural allelic variation; rice (Oryza sativa)