In perennial Arabis alpina, CONSTANS and FLOWERING LOCUS T have common and distinct effects on flowering and inflorescence architecture.
Sashidhar N, Coupland G
Summary
PubMedWhy it matters Understanding how perennial plants decide when to flower — and why some branches bloom while others don't — could help breeders develop longer-lived crops and garden plants that flower more reliably year after year.
Rock cress, a small alpine plant related to mustard, flowers on some branches but not others depending on the season. Researchers snipped out two flowering-control genes and found that one gene is needed to make all branches flower, while the other is specifically needed to keep side branches from flowering too early. This helps explain how the plant manages to live for many years and flower repeatedly — a trick most garden plants can't pull off.
chevron_right Technical Details
Scientists used gene-editing to discover how two key genes control when and where a perennial alpine plant flowers, revealing that the same genetic pathway plays surprisingly different roles depending on which branch of the plant is growing.
Key Findings
Knocking out the CONSTANS gene delayed flowering under long days but still allowed side branches to flower, while knocking out FT/TSFL genes blocked flowering on side branches entirely.
Both genes are required together for the plant to form inflorescence branches and flowers on its main shoot under long-day conditions.
After cold exposure (vernalization), plants missing FT/TSFL could still produce a few flowers, suggesting a secondary pathway partially compensates for the loss of these genes.
Abstract Preview
Flowering of perennial Arabis alpina is differentially regulated on primary and axillary shoots. Although contributions of vernalization and ageing pathways have been analysed, those of photoperiod...
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Arabis alpina, the Alpine rock-cress, is a flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae, native to mountainous areas of Europe, North and East Africa, Central and Eastern Asia and parts of North America. In the British Isles, it is only known to occur in a few locations in the Cuillin Ridge of the ...