Environmental responsiveness of flowering time in cassava genotypes and associated transcriptome changes.

Cassava is an important food security crop in tropical regions of the world. Cassava improvement by breeding is limited by its delayed and poor production of flowers, such that cassava flowering under field conditions indirectly lengthens the breeding cycle. By studying genotype and environment interaction under two Nigerian field conditions (Ubiaja and Ibadan) and three controlled temperature conditions (22°C/18°C, 28/24°C and 34/30°C (day/night)), we found that while early flowering genotypes flowered at similar times and rates under all growing conditions (unfavorable and favorable field and controlled-temperature environments), late flowering genotypes were environmentally sensitive such that they were substantially delayed in unfavorable environments. On the basis of nodes-to-flower, flowering of late genotypes approached the flowering time of early flowering genotypes under relatively cool Ubiaja field conditions and in growth chambers at 22°C, whereas warmer temperatures elicited a delaying effect. Analysis of transcriptomes from leaves of field and controlled-temperature environments revealed that conditions which promote early flowering in cassava have low expression of the flowering repressor gene TEMPRANILLO 1 (TEM1), before and after flowering. Expression data of field plants showed that the balance between flower stimulatory and inhibitory signaling appeared to correlate with flowering time across the environments and genotypes.

Flower Development in Cassava Is Feminized by Cytokinin, While Proliferation Is Stimulated by Anti-Ethylene and Pruning: Transcriptome Responses.

Cassava, a tropical storage-root crop, is a major source of food security for millions in the tropics. Cassava breeding, however, is hindered by the poor development of flowers and a low ratio of female flowers to male flowers. To advance the understanding of the mechanistic factors regulating cassava flowering, combinations of plant growth regulators (PGRs) and pruning treatments were examined for their effectiveness in improving flower production and fruit set in field conditions. Pruning the fork-type branches, which arise at the shoot apex immediately below newly formed inflorescences, stimulated inflorescence and floral development. The anti-ethylene PGR silver thiosulfate (STS) also increased flower abundance. Both pruning and STS increased flower numbers while having minimal influence on sex ratios. In contrast, the cytokinin benzyladenine (BA) feminized flowers without increasing flower abundance. Combining pruning and STS treatments led to an additive increase in flower abundance; with the addition of BA, over 80% of flowers were females. This three-way treatment combination of pruning+STS+BA also led to an increase in fruit number. Transcriptomic analysis of gene expression in tissues of the apical region and developing inflorescence revealed that the enhancement of flower development by STS+BA was accompanied by downregulation of several genes associated with repression of flowering, including homologs of TEMPRANILLO1 (TEM1), GA receptor GID1b, and ABA signaling genes ABI1 and PP2CA. We conclude that flower-enhancing treatments with pruning, STS, and BA create widespread changes in the network of hormone signaling and regulatory factors beyond ethylene and cytokinin.