A recessive allele for delayed flowering at the soybean maturity locus E9 is a leaky allele of FT2a, a FLOWERING LOCUS T ortholog

• DOI: 10.1186/s12870-016-0704-9
• Publication Date: 2016-01-19T15:54:48Z
• Authors: Chen Zhao; Ryoma Takeshima; Jianghui Zhu; Meilan Xu; Masako Sato; Satoshi Watanabe; Akira Kanazawa; Baohui Liu; Fanjiang Kong; Tetsuya Yamada; Jun Abe
• Keywords: 2. Zero hunger; 0301 basic medicine; Ty1/copia-like retrotransposon; 0303 health sciences; Glycine max; FLOWERING LOCUS T; SORE-1; Genes, Recessive; Plant Science; Flowers; Genes, Plant; Methylation; Flowering; 03 medical and health sciences; Soybean (Glycine max); 614; FT2a; Maturity gene E9; Alleles; Research Article

Understanding the molecular mechanisms of flowering and maturity is important for improving adaptability yield seed crops in different environments. In soybean, a facultative short-day plant, genetic variation at four genes, E1 to E4, plays an role adaptation environments with photoperiods. However, basis natural time poorly understood. Using cross between early-maturing soybean cultivars, we performed study genes. The progeny this segregated two loci, E9. latter locus was subjected detailed analysis identify responsible gene. Fine mapping, sequencing, expression revealed that E9 FT2a, ortholog Arabidopsis FLOWERING LOCUS T. Regardless daylength conditions, e9 allele transcribed very low level comparison delayed flowering. Despite identical coding sequences, number single nucleotide polymorphisms insertions/deletions were detected promoter, untranslated regions, introns cultivars. Furthermore, had Ty1/copia–like retrotransposon, SORE-1, inserted first intron. Comparison levels alleles among near-isogenic lines photoperiod-insensitive cultivars indicated SORE-1 insertion attenuated FT2a by its allele-specific transcriptional repression. highly methylated, did not appear disrupt RNA processing. gene recessive delays because lower transcript abundance caused repression due SORE-1. thus directly associated soybean. may maintain vegetative growth early-flowering backgrounds, also be useful as long-juvenile allele, which causes late under short-daylength low-latitude regions.