RESUMEN
Variations in flowering time and plant architecture have a crucial impact on crop biomass and yield, as well as the aesthetic value of ornamental plants. Aechmea fasciata, a member of the Bromeliaceae family, is a bromeliad variety that is commonly cultivated worldwide. Here, we report the characterization of AfSPL14, a squamosa promoter binding protein-like gene in A. fasciata. AfSPL14 was predominantly expressed in the young vegetative organs of adult plants. The expression of AfSPL14 could be upregulated within 1 h by exogenous ethephon treatment. The constitutive expression of AfSPL14 in Arabidopsis thaliana caused early flowering and variations in plant architecture, including smaller rosette leaves and thicker and increased numbers of main inflorescences. Our findings suggest that AfSPL14 may help facilitate the molecular breeding of A. fasciata, other ornamental and edible bromeliads (e.g., pineapple), and even cereal crops.
Asunto(s)
Arabidopsis/anatomía & histología , Arabidopsis/genética , Bromeliaceae/metabolismo , Flores/fisiología , Proteínas de Plantas/genética , Secuencia de Aminoácidos , Arabidopsis/efectos de los fármacos , Secuencia de Bases , Exones/genética , Flores/efectos de los fármacos , Perfilación de la Expresión Génica , Regulación de la Expresión Génica de las Plantas/efectos de los fármacos , Intrones/genética , Compuestos Organofosforados/farmacología , Fenotipo , Filogenia , Proteínas de Plantas/química , Proteínas de Plantas/aislamiento & purificación , Proteínas de Plantas/metabolismo , Plantas Modificadas Genéticamente , Dominios Proteicos , ARN Mensajero/genética , ARN Mensajero/metabolismo , Saccharomyces cerevisiae/metabolismo , Análisis de Secuencia de ADN , Activación Transcripcional/genéticaRESUMEN
The Bromeliaceae family is one of the most morphologically diverse families with a pantropical distribution. To schedule an appropriate flowering time for bromeliads, ethylene is commonly used to initiate flower development in adult plants. However, the mechanism by which ethylene induces flowering in adult bromeliads remains unknown. Here, we identified an APETALA2 (AP2)-like gene, AfAP2-1, in Aechmea fasciata. AfAP2-1 contains two AP2 domains and is a nuclear-localized protein. It functions as a transcriptional activator, and the activation domain is located in the C-terminal region. The expression level of AfAP2-1 is higher in juvenile plants than in adult plants, and the AfAP2-1 transcript level was rapidly and transiently reduced in plants treated with exogenous ethylene. Overexpression of AfAP2-1 in Arabidopsis thaliana results in an extremely delayed flowering phenotype. These results suggested that AfAP2-1 responds to ethylene and is a putative age-dependent flowering regulator in A. fasciata.