Temperature-mediated flower size plasticity in Arabidopsis
Andrew Wiszniewski,
Estefanía Uberegui,
Michaela Messer,
Gulmairam Sultanova,
Monica Borghi,
Gustavo Turqueto Duarte,
Rubén Vicente,
Katelyn Sageman-Furnas,
Alisdair R. Fernie,
Zoran Nikoloski,
Roosa A.E. Laitinen
Affiliations
Andrew Wiszniewski
Molecular Mechanisms of Plant Adaptation Group, Max-Planck-Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, Potsdam, Germany
Estefanía Uberegui
Molecular Mechanisms of Plant Adaptation Group, Max-Planck-Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, Potsdam, Germany
Michaela Messer
Molecular Mechanisms of Plant Adaptation Group, Max-Planck-Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, Potsdam, Germany
Gulmairam Sultanova
Molecular Mechanisms of Plant Adaptation Group, Max-Planck-Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, Potsdam, Germany
Monica Borghi
Central Metabolism Group, Max-Planck-Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, Potsdam, Germany; Utah State University, Department of Biology, Logan, UT, USA
Gustavo Turqueto Duarte
Molecular Mechanisms of Plant Adaptation Group, Max-Planck-Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, Potsdam, Germany; Belgian Nuclear Research Centre (SCK CEN), Unit for Biosphere Impact Studies, Boeretang 200 - 2400 Mol, Belgium
Rubén Vicente
System Regulation Group, Max-Planck-Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, Potsdam, Germany; Plant Ecophysiology and Metabolism Lab, ITQB Nova - Plant Sciences Division, Av. da República, 2780-157 Oeiras, Portugal
Katelyn Sageman-Furnas
Molecular Mechanisms of Plant Adaptation Group, Max-Planck-Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, Potsdam, Germany; Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA
Alisdair R. Fernie
Central Metabolism Group, Max-Planck-Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, Potsdam, Germany
Zoran Nikoloski
Systems Biology and Mathematical Modelling Group, Max-Planck-Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, Potsdam, Germany; Bioinformatics, Institute of Biochemistry and Biology, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
Roosa A.E. Laitinen
Molecular Mechanisms of Plant Adaptation Group, Max-Planck-Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, Potsdam, Germany; Organismal and Evolutionary Research Programme, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Viikki Plant Science Centre, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland; Corresponding author
Summary: Organisms can rapidly mitigate the effects of environmental changes by changing their phenotypes, known as phenotypic plasticity. Yet, little is known about the temperature-mediated plasticity of traits that are directly linked to plant fitness such as flower size. We discovered substantial genetic variation in flower size plasticity to temperature both among selfing Arabidopsis thaliana and outcrossing A. arenosa individuals collected from a natural growth habitat. Genetic analysis using a panel of 290 A. thaliana accession and mutant lines revealed that MADS AFFECTING FLOWERING (MAF) 2–5 gene cluster, previously shown to regulate temperature-mediated flowering time, was associated to the flower size plasticity to temperature. Furthermore, our findings pointed that the control of plasticity differs from control of the trait itself. Altogether, our study advances the understanding of genetic and molecular factors underlying plasticity on fundamental fitness traits, such as flower size, in response to future climate scenarios.
