Biologia plantarum 2016, 60:401-409 | DOI: 10.1007/s10535-016-0614-6

Overexpression of the repressor gene PvFRI-L from Phyllostachys violascens delays flowering time in transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana

S. N. Liu1,2, L. F. Zhu2, X. C. Lin2,*, L. Y. Ma1,*
1 Forestry College, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, P.R. China
2 The Nurturing Station for the State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Silviculture, Zhejiang Agriculture and Forestry University, Lin'an, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, P.R. China

The gene FRIGIDA (FRI) is floral repressor and plays a key role in the timing of Arabidopsis flowering. To study the function of FRI-like genes in bamboo, we isolated a FRI family gene from bamboo Phyllostachys violascens and named it PvFRI-L. Sequence alignment and phylogenetic analysis show that the PvFRI-L protein belongs to the FRL3 (III) subfamily from monocots and contains a conserved FRIGIDA domain. PvFRI-L was located in the nucleus of onion epidermal cells. PvFRI-L was expressed in all tested organs of flowering and non-flowering bamboo plants with a higher expression in non-flowering than in flowering plants. Overexpression of PvFRI-L in Arabidopsis caused late flowering by downregulating flowering locus T and upregulating flowering locus C. A P-box, the binding site involved in gibberellin response, was found only in the promoter region of PvFRI-L but not in that of FRI. Furthermore, PvFRI-L expression in the leaves of Ph. violascens seedlings was downregulated with gibberellic acid treatment. Taking together, our observation suggests that PvFRI-L may be flowering repressor and its delaying floral timing may be regulated by gibberellic acid in bamboo.

Keywords: Arabidopsis thaliana; bamboo; gibberellic acid
Subjects: repressor gene; flowering; gibberellic acid; transgenic plants; gene expression; bamboo
Species: Phyllostachys violascens; Arabidopsis thaliana; Allium sativa

Received: March 26, 2015; Revised: December 15, 2015; Accepted: December 22, 2015; Published: September 1, 2016Show citation

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Liu, S.N., Zhu, L.F., Lin, X.C., & Ma, L.Y. (2016). Overexpression of the repressor gene PvFRI-L from Phyllostachys violascens delays flowering time in transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana. Biologia plantarum, 60(3), 401-409. doi: 10.1007/s10535-016-0614-6.
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