Two soybean homologues of TERMINAL FLOWER 1 control flowering time under long day conditions
Lingshuang Wang,
Chun Lin,
Bohui Li,
Tong Su,
Shichen Li,
Haiyang Li,
Fanglei He,
Chuanjie Gou,
Zheng Chen,
Yanan Wang,
Jun Qin,
Baohui Liu,
Fanjiang Kong,
Lin Yue,
Sijia Lu,
Chao Fang
Affiliations
Lingshuang Wang
Guangdong Key Laboratory of Plant Adaptation and Molecular Design, Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Crop Gene Editing, Innovative Center of Molecular Genetics and Evolution, School of Life Sciences, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, Guangdong, China
Chun Lin
College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming 650201, Yunnan, China
Bohui Li
Guangdong Key Laboratory of Plant Adaptation and Molecular Design, Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Crop Gene Editing, Innovative Center of Molecular Genetics and Evolution, School of Life Sciences, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, Guangdong, China
Tong Su
Guangdong Key Laboratory of Plant Adaptation and Molecular Design, Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Crop Gene Editing, Innovative Center of Molecular Genetics and Evolution, School of Life Sciences, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, Guangdong, China
Shichen Li
Guangdong Key Laboratory of Plant Adaptation and Molecular Design, Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Crop Gene Editing, Innovative Center of Molecular Genetics and Evolution, School of Life Sciences, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, Guangdong, China
Haiyang Li
National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Germplasm Enhancement, National Center for Soybean Improvement, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Modern Crop Production, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, Jiangsu, China
Fanglei He
College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming 650201, Yunnan, China
Chuanjie Gou
Guangdong Key Laboratory of Plant Adaptation and Molecular Design, Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Crop Gene Editing, Innovative Center of Molecular Genetics and Evolution, School of Life Sciences, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, Guangdong, China
Zheng Chen
Guangdong Key Laboratory of Plant Adaptation and Molecular Design, Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Crop Gene Editing, Innovative Center of Molecular Genetics and Evolution, School of Life Sciences, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, Guangdong, China
Yanan Wang
Guangdong Key Laboratory of Plant Adaptation and Molecular Design, Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Crop Gene Editing, Innovative Center of Molecular Genetics and Evolution, School of Life Sciences, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, Guangdong, China
Jun Qin
Institute of Cereal & Oil Crop, Hebei Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences, Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Breeding of Hebei, Shijiazhuang 050035, Hebei, China
Baohui Liu
Guangdong Key Laboratory of Plant Adaptation and Molecular Design, Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Crop Gene Editing, Innovative Center of Molecular Genetics and Evolution, School of Life Sciences, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, Guangdong, China
Fanjiang Kong
Guangdong Key Laboratory of Plant Adaptation and Molecular Design, Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Crop Gene Editing, Innovative Center of Molecular Genetics and Evolution, School of Life Sciences, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, Guangdong, China
Lin Yue
Guangdong Key Laboratory of Plant Adaptation and Molecular Design, Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Crop Gene Editing, Innovative Center of Molecular Genetics and Evolution, School of Life Sciences, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, Guangdong, China; Corresponding authors.
Sijia Lu
Guangdong Key Laboratory of Plant Adaptation and Molecular Design, Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Crop Gene Editing, Innovative Center of Molecular Genetics and Evolution, School of Life Sciences, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, Guangdong, China; Corresponding authors.
Chao Fang
Guangdong Key Laboratory of Plant Adaptation and Molecular Design, Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Crop Gene Editing, Innovative Center of Molecular Genetics and Evolution, School of Life Sciences, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, Guangdong, China; Corresponding authors.
Flowering time is a key agronomic trait that directly affect the adaptation and yield of soybean. After whole genome duplications, about 75% of genes being represented by multiple copies in soybean. There are four TERMINAL FLOWER 1 (TFL1) genes in soybean, and the TFL1b (Dt1) has been characterized as the determinant of stem growth habit. The function of other TFL1 homologs in soybean is still unclear. Here, we generated knockout mutants by CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing technology and found that the tfl1c/tfl1d double mutants flowered significantly earlier than wild-type plants. We investigated that TFL1c and TFL1d could physically interact with the bZIP transcription factor FDc1 and bind to the promoter of APETALA1a (AP1a). RNA-seq and qRT-PCR analyses indicated that TFL1c and TFL1d repressed the expressions of the four AP1 homologs and delayed the flowering time in soybean. The two genes play important roles in the regulation of flowering time in soybean and mainly act as the flowering inhibitors under long-day conditions. Our results identify novel components in the flowering-time regulation network of soybean and will be invaluable for molecular breeding of improved soybean yield.
