Sequence and functional analysis of a TERMINAL FLOWER 1 homolog from Brassica juncea: a putative biotechnological tool for flowering time adjustment
Date
2020
Authors
Khanouki, Mohsen Asadi
Rezanejad, Farkhondeh
Millar, Anthony
Journal Title
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Publisher
Taylor & Francis
Abstract
Flowering time is an important agricultural trait of the oil crop Brassica juncea (B. juncea), as accelerated flowering enables avoidance of terminal drought leading to increased yields. One
gene known to control flowering time is TERMINAL FLOWER 1 (TFL1), which belongs to a family of phosphatidylethanolamine binding proteins, which can either repress or promote flowering time. Here, a TFL1 homolog, named BjTFL1, has been isolated from B. juncea, which shared 95% amino acid identity with TFL1 from Arabidopsis thaliana. Sequence analysis predicts the BjTFL1 protein contains the ligand-binding site, conserved motifs and other amino acid residues that are critical for TFL1 function. Confirming this as a functional TFL1 orthologue, overexpression of BjTFL1 under the control of the constitutive 35S promoter in Arabidopsis delayed flowering time. As a proof-of concept to investigate its utility to shorten flowering time, an RNAi construct containing a partial sequence of BjTFL1 was transformed into Arabidopsis. Transcript analysis demonstrated the downregulation
of endogenous AtTFL1. Moreover, the RNAi BjTFL1 transgenic lines were early flowering and had fewer rosette and cauline leaves compared to wild-type. Therefore, this BjTFL1 RNAi transgene could be used as a biotechnological tool to reduce flowering time in Brassica juncea in a bid to improve agricultural performance.
Description
Keywords
TFL1, Flowering time, 3D protein structure, hpRNAi, Brassica juncea
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Source
GM Crops & Food
Type
Journal article
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2099-12-31