title: The Evolution of the FT/TFL1 Genes in Amaranthaceae and Their Expression Patterns in the Course of Vegetative Growth and Flowering in Chenopodium rubrum.
abstract: The FT/TFL1 gene family controls important aspects of plant development: MFT-like genes affect germination, TFL1-like genes act as floral inhibitors, and FT-like genes are floral activators. Gene duplications produced paralogs with modified functions required by the specific lifestyles of various angiosperm species. We constructed the transcriptome of the weedy annual plant Chenopodium rubrum and used it for the comprehensive search for the FT/TFL1 genes. We analyzed their phylogenetic relationships across Amaranthaceae and all angiosperms. We discovered a very ancient phylogenetic clade of FT genes represented by the CrFTL3 gene of C. rubrum Another paralog CrFTL2 showed an unusual structural rearrangement which might have contributed to the functional shift. We examined the transcription patterns of the FT/TFL1 genes during the vegetative growth and floral transition in C. rubrum to get clues about their possible functions. All the genes except for the constitutively expressed CrFTL2 gene, and the CrFTL3 gene, which was transcribed only in seeds, exhibited organ-specific expression influenced by the specific light regime. The CrFTL1 gene was confirmed as a single floral activator from the FT/TFL1 family in C. rubrum Its floral promoting activity may be counteracted by CrTFL1 C. rubrum emerges as an easily manipulated model for the study of floral induction in weedy fast-cycling plants lacking a juvenile phase.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Experimental Botany, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, 165 02 Prague 6, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Jana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Drabešová
authors.affiliation: Institute of Experimental Botany, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, 165 02 Prague 6, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Lucie
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Černá
authors.affiliation: Institute of Experimental Botany, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, 165 02 Prague 6, Czech Republic Department of Experimental Plant Biology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Charles University, 128 44 Prague 2, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Helena
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mašterová
authors.affiliation: Institute of Experimental Botany, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, 165 02 Prague 6, Czech Republic Department of Genetics and Microbiology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Charles University, 128 44 Prague 2, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Pavla
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Koloušková
authors.affiliation: Institute of Experimental Botany, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, 165 02 Prague 6, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Potocký
authors.affiliation: Institute of Experimental Botany, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, 165 02 Prague 6, Czech Republic storchova@ueb.cas.cz.
authors.forename: Helena
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-6701-179X
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Štorchová
mesh_terms: D027703:Amaranthaceae / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development*; D019295:Computational Biology / Q000379:methods; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D035264:Flowers / Q000235:genetics*; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D017343:Genes, Plant; D014644:Genetic Variation; D018745:Genome, Plant; D008027:Light; D008958:Models, Molecular; D005810:Multigene Family; D009928:Organ Specificity; D010641:Phenotype; D010802:Phylogeny; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D011487:Protein Conformation; D059467:Transcriptome
chemical_list: D010940:Plant Proteins
keywords: Amaranthaceae; Chenopodium rubrum; FLOWERING LOCUS T/TERMINAL FLOWER1 gene family; evolution; flowering; gene rearrangement; transcriptome