The Major Floral Promoter NtFT5 in Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) Is a Promising Target for Crop Improvement
The FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT)-like gene family encodes key regulators of flower induction that affect the timing of reproduction in many angiosperm species. Agricultural research has therefore focused on such genes to improve the success of breeding programs and enhance agronomic traits. We recently id...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2020-01-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Plant Science |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpls.2019.01666/full |
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| author | Florentin J. Schmidt Marius M. Zimmermann David R. Wiedmann Sophie Lichtenauer Lena Grundmann Jost Muth Richard M. Twyman Dirk Prüfer Dirk Prüfer Gundula A. Noll |
| author_facet | Florentin J. Schmidt Marius M. Zimmermann David R. Wiedmann Sophie Lichtenauer Lena Grundmann Jost Muth Richard M. Twyman Dirk Prüfer Dirk Prüfer Gundula A. Noll |
| author_sort | Florentin J. Schmidt |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT)-like gene family encodes key regulators of flower induction that affect the timing of reproduction in many angiosperm species. Agricultural research has therefore focused on such genes to improve the success of breeding programs and enhance agronomic traits. We recently identified a novel FT-like gene (NtFT5) that encodes a day-neutral floral activator in the model tobacco crop Nicotiana tabacum. However, further characterization is necessary to determine its value as a target for breeding programs. We therefore investigated the function of NtFT5 by expression analysis and mutagenesis. Expression analysis revealed that NtFT5 is transcribed in phloem companion cells, as is typical for FT-like genes. However, high levels of NtFT5 mRNA accumulated not only in the leaves but also in the stem. Loss-of-function mutants (generated using CRISPR/Cas9) were unable to switch to reproductive growth under long-day conditions, indicating that NtFT5 is an indispensable major floral activator during long-days. Backcrossing was achieved by grafting the mutant scions onto wild-type rootstock, allowing the restoration of flowering and pollination by a wild-type donor. The resulting heterozygous Ntft5–/NtFT5+ plants flowered with a mean delay of only ~2 days, demonstrating that one functional allele is sufficient for near-normal reproductive timing. However, this minor extension of the vegetative growth phase also conferred beneficial agronomic traits, including a >10% increase in vegetative leaf biomass on the main shoot and the production of more seeds. The agronomic benefits of the heterozygous plants persisted under various abiotic stress conditions, confirming that NtFT5 is a promising target for crop improvement to address the effects of climate change. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-21T22:51:40Z |
| format | Article |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-462X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-21T22:51:40Z |
| publishDate | 2020-01-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Plant Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-7e62565ee3244b158067223825c1786f2022-12-21T18:47:34ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Plant Science1664-462X2020-01-011010.3389/fpls.2019.01666474877The Major Floral Promoter NtFT5 in Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) Is a Promising Target for Crop ImprovementFlorentin J. Schmidt0Marius M. Zimmermann1David R. Wiedmann2Sophie Lichtenauer3Lena Grundmann4Jost Muth5Richard M. Twyman6Dirk Prüfer7Dirk Prüfer8Gundula A. Noll9Institute of Plant Biology and Biotechnology, University of Münster, Münster, GermanyInstitute of Plant Biology and Biotechnology, University of Münster, Münster, GermanyDepartment of Functional and Applied Genomics, Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME, Münster, GermanyInstitute of Plant Biology and Biotechnology, University of Münster, Münster, GermanyDepartment of Functional and Applied Genomics, Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME, Münster, GermanyDepartment of Functional and Applied Genomics, Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME, Aachen, GermanyTRM Ltd, Scarborough, United KingdomInstitute of Plant Biology and Biotechnology, University of Münster, Münster, GermanyDepartment of Functional and Applied Genomics, Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME, Münster, GermanyInstitute of Plant Biology and Biotechnology, University of Münster, Münster, GermanyThe FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT)-like gene family encodes key regulators of flower induction that affect the timing of reproduction in many angiosperm species. Agricultural research has therefore focused on such genes to improve the success of breeding programs and enhance agronomic traits. We recently identified a novel FT-like gene (NtFT5) that encodes a day-neutral floral activator in the model tobacco crop Nicotiana tabacum. However, further characterization is necessary to determine its value as a target for breeding programs. We therefore investigated the function of NtFT5 by expression analysis and mutagenesis. Expression analysis revealed that NtFT5 is transcribed in phloem companion cells, as is typical for FT-like genes. However, high levels of NtFT5 mRNA accumulated not only in the leaves but also in the stem. Loss-of-function mutants (generated using CRISPR/Cas9) were unable to switch to reproductive growth under long-day conditions, indicating that NtFT5 is an indispensable major floral activator during long-days. Backcrossing was achieved by grafting the mutant scions onto wild-type rootstock, allowing the restoration of flowering and pollination by a wild-type donor. The resulting heterozygous Ntft5–/NtFT5+ plants flowered with a mean delay of only ~2 days, demonstrating that one functional allele is sufficient for near-normal reproductive timing. However, this minor extension of the vegetative growth phase also conferred beneficial agronomic traits, including a >10% increase in vegetative leaf biomass on the main shoot and the production of more seeds. The agronomic benefits of the heterozygous plants persisted under various abiotic stress conditions, confirming that NtFT5 is a promising target for crop improvement to address the effects of climate change.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpls.2019.01666/fullflowering locus T (FT)SR1floral activatorlong-day floweringPEBP familyCRISPR/Cas9 |
| spellingShingle | Florentin J. Schmidt Marius M. Zimmermann David R. Wiedmann Sophie Lichtenauer Lena Grundmann Jost Muth Richard M. Twyman Dirk Prüfer Dirk Prüfer Gundula A. Noll The Major Floral Promoter NtFT5 in Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) Is a Promising Target for Crop Improvement Frontiers in Plant Science flowering locus T (FT) SR1 floral activator long-day flowering PEBP family CRISPR/Cas9 |
| title | The Major Floral Promoter NtFT5 in Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) Is a Promising Target for Crop Improvement |
| title_full | The Major Floral Promoter NtFT5 in Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) Is a Promising Target for Crop Improvement |
| title_fullStr | The Major Floral Promoter NtFT5 in Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) Is a Promising Target for Crop Improvement |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Major Floral Promoter NtFT5 in Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) Is a Promising Target for Crop Improvement |
| title_short | The Major Floral Promoter NtFT5 in Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) Is a Promising Target for Crop Improvement |
| title_sort | major floral promoter ntft5 in tobacco nicotiana tabacum is a promising target for crop improvement |
| topic | flowering locus T (FT) SR1 floral activator long-day flowering PEBP family CRISPR/Cas9 |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpls.2019.01666/full |
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