FT/TFL1 Gene Family in Jatropha curcas Identified and Characterized
Jun 12, 2014 Email"> PrintText Size
Jatropha curcas (physic nut) has been recognized as a biofuel plant because of its high oil content seeds, easy propagation, drought tolerance, and adaptability to marginal lands. However, Jatropha exhibits low seed yield as a result of unreliable and poor flowering. Molecular breeding would be a good genetic improvement method to obtain high-yielding Jatropha cultivars. Little research has been done on the genetic mechanism regulating floral transition in this perennial plant.
It is expected that the FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT)/TERMINAL FLOWER 1 (TFL1) gene family plays an important role in this development process. TFL1 encodes proteins with high similarity to phosphatidyl ethanolamine-binding proteins, and functions as flowering promoters or repressors.
Prof. XU Zengfu of Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG) and his research team isolated six Jatropha genes that were highly similar to Arabidopsis FT/TFL1 genes and investigated their expression patterns throughout the vegetative and reproductive developmental stages.
The entire Jatropha genome has been sequenced. JcFT, the Jatropha FT homolog, was primarily expressed in the reproductive organs. JcTFL1a and JcTFL1c, two genes in the TFL1-like subfamily, were mainly expressed in the roots of juvenile plants, whereas JcTFL1b transcripts were abundantly accumulated in the fruits. They found five FT/TFL1 members in the genome database; JcTFL1c was not in the database, which may be accounted for by the fact that the genome database has only 95 % gene coverage. Thus, it is likely that all members of the Jatropha FT/TFL1 gene family were identified in their study. And their study provided a comprehensive description about the genomic structures and expression patterns of the Jatropha FT/TFL1 gene family.
The study entitled “Identification and Characterization of the FT/TFL1 Gene Family in the Biofuel Plant Jatropha curcas” has been published online in Plant Molecular Biology Reporter.
Jatropha curcas (physic nut) has been recognized as a biofuel plant because of its high oil content seeds, easy propagation, drought tolerance, and adaptability to marginal lands. However, Jatropha exhibits low seed yield as a result of unreliable and poor flowering. Molecular breeding would be a good genetic improvement method to obtain high-yielding Jatropha cultivars. Little research has been done on the genetic mechanism regulating floral transition in this perennial plant.
It is expected that the FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT)/TERMINAL FLOWER 1 (TFL1) gene family plays an important role in this development process. TFL1 encodes proteins with high similarity to phosphatidyl ethanolamine-binding proteins, and functions as flowering promoters or repressors.
Prof. XU Zengfu of Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG) and his research team isolated six Jatropha genes that were highly similar to Arabidopsis FT/TFL1 genes and investigated their expression patterns throughout the vegetative and reproductive developmental stages.
The entire Jatropha genome has been sequenced. JcFT, the Jatropha FT homolog, was primarily expressed in the reproductive organs. JcTFL1a and JcTFL1c, two genes in the TFL1-like subfamily, were mainly expressed in the roots of juvenile plants, whereas JcTFL1b transcripts were abundantly accumulated in the fruits. They found five FT/TFL1 members in the genome database; JcTFL1c was not in the database, which may be accounted for by the fact that the genome database has only 95 % gene coverage. Thus, it is likely that all members of the Jatropha FT/TFL1 gene family were identified in their study. And their study provided a comprehensive description about the genomic structures and expression patterns of the Jatropha FT/TFL1 gene family.
The study entitled “Identification and Characterization of the FT/TFL1 Gene Family in the Biofuel Plant Jatropha curcas” has been published online in Plant Molecular Biology Reporter.
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