title: DhEFL2, 3 and 4, the three EARLY FLOWERING4-like genes in a Doritaenopsis hybrid regulate floral transition.
abstract: DhEFL2, 3 and 4 regulate the flowering of Doritaenopsis . These genes could rescue elf4-1 phenotype in Arabidopsis while its overexpression delayed flowering. Phalaenopsis are popular floral plants, and studies on orchid flowering genes could help develop off-season cultivars. Early flowering 4 (ELF4) of A. thaliana has been shown to be involved in photoperiod perception and circadian regulation. We isolated two members of the ELF4 family from Doritaenopsis hybrid (Doritaenopsis 'Tinny Tender' (Doritaenopsis Happy Smile × Happy Valentine)), namely, DhEFL2 and DhEFL3 (DhEFL4 has been previously cloned). Multiple alignment analysis of the deduced amino acid sequences of the three DhEFL homologs showed that DhEFL4 and DhEFL2 are similar with 72% identical amino acids, whereas DhEFL3 is divergent with 72% similarity with DhEFL2 and 68% similarity with DhEFL4. DhEFL3 forms a separate phylogenetic subgroup and is far away from DhEFL2 and DhEFL4. The diurnal expression patterns of DhEFL2, 3, and 4 are similar in the long-day photoperiod conditions; however, in the short-day conditions, DhEFL3 is different from DhEFL2 and 4. For the DhEFL2, 3, and 4 genes, the strongest audience expression organs are the stem, petal and bud, respectively. The ectopic expression of DhEFL2, 3, or 4 in transgenic A. thaliana plants (Ws-2 ecotype) showed novel phenotypes by late flowering and more rosette leaves. The ectopic expression of DhEFL2, 3, or 4 could complement the elf4-1 flowering time and hypocotyl length defects in transgenic A. thaliana elf4-1 mutant plants. These results strongly suggest that DhEFL2, 3, and 4 may be involved in regulation of flower formation and floral induction in Doritaenopsis.
authors.affiliation: The Nurturing Station for the State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Silviculture, Zhejiang Agriculture and Forestry University, Lin'an, Hangzhou, 311300, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China. yihonglou123@gmail.com.|School of Agriculture and Food Science, Zhejiang Agriculture and Forestry University, 88 Huancheng Street, Lin'an, Hangzhou, 311300, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China. yihonglou123@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Weiwei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: School of Agriculture and Food Science, Zhejiang Agriculture and Forestry University, 88 Huancheng Street, Lin'an, Hangzhou, 311300, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China. doctorqinhz@yahoo.com.cn.
authors.forename: Qiaoping
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Qin
authors.affiliation: School of Agriculture and Food Science, Zhejiang Agriculture and Forestry University, 88 Huancheng Street, Lin'an, Hangzhou, 311300, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China. zhangchi1978@zafu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Chi
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Zhejiang Senhe Seed Co., Ltd.,, Hangzhou, 310012, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China. paul5099@aliyun.com.|Oceanwide International Center, 19th Floor, Building A, No. 2 Xiangzhang Road, Qianjiang CBD, Hangzhou, 310007, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China. paul5099@aliyun.com.
authors.forename: Yongping
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.affiliation: Zhejiang Senhe Seed Co., Ltd.,, Hangzhou, 310012, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China. 714652809@qq.com.|Oceanwide International Center, 19th Floor, Building A, No. 2 Xiangzhang Road, Qianjiang CBD, Hangzhou, 310007, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China. 714652809@qq.com.
authors.forename: Chun
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: The Nurturing Station for the State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Silviculture, Zhejiang Agriculture and Forestry University, Lin'an, Hangzhou, 311300, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China. zhoumingbing@zafu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Mingbing
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: School of Agriculture and Food Science, Zhejiang Agriculture and Forestry University, 88 Huancheng Street, Lin'an, Hangzhou, 311300, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China. yongyicui6@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Yongyi
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7533-4812
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cui
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology / Q000528:radiation effects; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D002678:Chimera; D035264:Flowers / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology / Q000528:radiation effects; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D018546:Hypocotyl / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology / Q000528:radiation effects; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation; D029595:Orchidaceae / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology / Q000528:radiation effects; D010641:Phenotype; D017440:Photoperiod; D010802:Phylogeny; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology / Q000528:radiation effects; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified; D036226:Seedlings / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology / Q000528:radiation effects; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; C465973:ELF4 protein, Arabidopsis; D010940:Plant Proteins
keywords: DhEFL2; DhEFL3; DhEFL4; Doritaenopsis hybrid; Doritaenopsis ‘Tinny Tender’ (Doritaenopsis Happy Smile × Happy Valentine); ELF4