Two LEAFY homologues regulate floral patterning and development without affecting flowering time in kiwifruit.
Peng Y, Voogd C, Deng C, Rebstock R, Douglas M
Crispr
Understanding how kiwifruit flowers develop could help growers improve pollination success, fruit size, and shape — directly affecting the kiwis you find at the grocery store.
Kiwifruit plants have two versions of an important gene that controls how flowers are built. When scientists knocked out both genes using a precise editing tool, the flowers grew malformed — missing petals and the parts needed for pollination — which hurt fruit production. Surprisingly, removing these genes didn't change when the plant started flowering, which was unexpected based on how the same gene behaves in other plants.
Key Findings
Deleting both AcLFY genes caused severe defects in petals and stamens, impairing self-pollination and reducing fruit size and shape
Overexpressing either LFY gene accelerated flowering in Arabidopsis (a lab plant) but did NOT accelerate flowering in kiwifruit itself
The two LFY genes are regulated by floral repressor genes (CENTRORADIALIS), suggesting a distinct control network compared to other plant species
chevron_right Technical Summary
Scientists discovered that kiwifruit has two copies of a key flowering gene, and while deleting both causes seriously deformed flowers with fewer petals and stamens, neither gene controls when the plant starts flowering — challenging assumptions from other plant studies.
Abstract Preview
Actinidia chinensis (kiwifruit) are economically important fruit-bearing woody perennial vines, but with a long juvenile phase which slows plant breeding efforts. LEAFY (LFY) encodes a plant specif...
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