Grain yield in wheat is mostly governed prior to flowering during primordia development. Mature primordia development, floret fertility, and maximum grain number per spikelet are the three most important characteristics of spike development. The genes involved in primordia formation, on the other hand, have remained unclear. Here, we demonstrate molecular characterization of Triticum aestivum MARCH9 (TraesCS7A01G283700) which encodes RING domain, might play a positively regulating primordium and floret development until anthesis stages. TaMARCH9 expression level was highly induced at differentiation stages (WS 3-6) in Yeongkwang cultivar. TaMARCH9 exhibited ubiquitination activities and was localized to the plasma membrane using a transient expression system in tobacco. Moreover, overexpression of TaMARCH9 in Arabidopsis plant displayed early flowering phenotypes compared to wild-type. Some of flowering related genes such as FLC, MAF, FT and SOC were highly induced in TaMARCH9- overexpressing Arabidopsis plants. Our finding suggested that TaMARCH9 may act a key role in the formation of floret primordium development and/or flowering time in wheat.

Cowpea is an annual legume crop; although it is an essential food in developing countries, cowpea is now grown worldwide. For the genetic improvement of plants, flowering time is one of the major selection criteria. In general, flowering is regulated by photoperiod and temperature, along with the interaction between environmental factors. In this study, we aimed to investigate the candidate genes associated with flowering time using genome-wide association study (GWAS). To investigate the flowering time-related genes, 384 cowpea germplasms were genotyped with 51,128 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). The main genetic component of days to flowering (DTF) was analyzed using genome association and prediction integrated tool (GAPIT) and elastic-net analyses. From the GAPIT and elastic-net analyses, a total of 23 SNPs were significantly associated with DTF among five (chr. 2, 3, 7, 9, and 11) and seven (chr. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, and 9) different chromosomes, respectively. Based on our analysis, Vigun01g084000, Vigun01g227200, Vigun02g062600, and Vigun03g296800 were considered the major candidate genes that were significantly associated with DTF in cowpea. These results confirmed that DTF might be controlled by multiple genes affecting early flowering, delaying flowering time, repressing the transition to flowering, etc. This study will potentially contribute to effective DTF genomic selection in plant breeding to better understand the genetic basis and explore the mechanism of flowering time.

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• Genome-wide association studies dissect the genetic architecture of seed and yield component traits in cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp)
  Habib Akinmade, Rebecca Caroline Ulbricht Ferreira, Mario Henrique Murad Leite Andrade, Claudio Fernandes, Pablo Sipowicz, María Muñoz-Amatriaín, Esteban Rios, T Jamann
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• Genome-wide association study of biological nitrogen fixation traits in mini-core cowpea germplasm
  Gelase Nkurunziza, Emmanuel K. Mbeyagala, Emmanuel Amponsah Adjei, Isaac Onziga Dramadri, Richard Edema, Arfang Badji, Rahiel Hagos Abrah, Astere Bararyenya, Kpedetin Ariel Frejus Sodedji, Phinehas Tukamuhabwa, Mildred Ochwo Ssemakula, John Baptist Tumuha
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• Elucidating the genomic regions through genome-wide association study (GWAS) for root traits in cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L) Walp) mini-core collection
  Aaqif Zaffar, Rajneesh Paliwal, Michael Abberton, Sabina Akhtar, Rafiq Ahmad Mengnoo, Aamir Nazir Sheikh, Parvaze Ahmad Sofi, Mohd Ashraf Bhat, Reyazul Rouf Mir
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• Crop Landraces and Indigenous Varieties: A Valuable Source of Genes for Plant Breeding
  Efstathia Lazaridi, Aliki Kapazoglou, Maria Gerakari, Konstantina Kleftogianni, Kondylia Passa, Efi Sarri, Vasileios Papasotiropoulos, Eleni Tani, Penelope J. Bebeli
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• Cowpea Constraints and Breeding in Europe
  Efstathia Lazaridi, Penelope J. Bebeli
  Plants.2023; 12(6): 1339.     CrossRef
• Revisiting the Domestication Process of African Vigna Species (Fabaceae): Background, Perspectives and Challenges
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  Plants.2022; 11(4): 532.     CrossRef

It is essential to develop tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) cultivars with tolerance to low temperature (LT) for reducing production cost and increasing fruit quality in winter. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of LT on 40 tomato accessions for establishing selection criteria to select accessions with LT tolerance. Tomato plants were grown in two polyethylene film greenhouses with night temperature set-points of 10℃ and 15℃. LT significantly affected the photosynthetic parameters as well as both vegetative and reproductive growth in tomato. There was a significant difference in plant height between plants grown in 10℃ and 15℃. Leaf length and width were also significantly lower in 10℃. The stem diameter was generally lower in 10℃ but 12 accessions in 10℃ had thicker stem diameter than those in 15℃. The retarded growth was due to lower photosynthetic rate in 10℃ than 15℃. Significant delay in flowering was observed among tomato accessions in 10℃. For the number of flowers, 62.5% showed the increase but 37.5% did the decrease in 10℃ among 40 tomato accessions, showing genotype specific interaction with LT. Accessions with small fruits showed reduced fruit set in 10℃; however, it was not obvious among accessions with large fruits. Interestingly, 75% of accessions showed increased chlorophyll contents in 10℃ compared to 15℃. An accession ‘VI037163’ was selected for LT tolerance based on good performance in six out of seven traits considered such as plant height, leaf length, stem diameter, chlorophyll contents, days to flowering, the number of flowers and fruit set.

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• Trichoderma asperellum Enhances Low-Temperature Tolerance of Tomato Plants by Regulating Oxidative Stress, Osmolyte Accumulation, and Stomatal Traits
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• Recent Insights into the Physio-Biochemical and Molecular Mechanisms of Low Temperature Stress in Tomato
  Kwanuk Lee, Hunseung Kang
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• Intraspecific variation in responses to extreme and moderate temperature stress in the wild species, Solanum carolinense (Solanaceae)
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• Multivariate analysis of garlic (Allium sativum L.) germplasm in response to cold tolerance regimes
  Jalil Ahmad, Haiping Wang, Jiangping Song, Shamim Umer, Xiaohui Zhang, Wenlong Yang, Xixiang Li
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• Identification of Key Regulatory Factors of Molecular Marker TGS377 on Chromosome 1 and Its Response to Cold Stress in Tomato
  Jia-Qi Zhang, Jian-Ping Tao, Liu-Xia Song, Rong-Rong Zhang, Hui Liu, Tong-Min Zhao, Wei-Min Zhu, Ai-Sheng Xiong
  Agronomy.2022; 12(12): 2985.     CrossRef
• Physiological Traits of Thirty-Five Tomato Accessions in Response to Low Temperature
  Sherzod Nigmatullayevich Rajametov, Kwanuk Lee, Hyo-Bong Jeong, Myeong-Cheoul Cho, Chun-Woo Nam, Eun-Young Yang
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• Factors Affecting Tolerance to Low Night Temperature Differ by Fruit Types in Tomato
  Eun-Young Yang, Sherzod Nigmatullayevich Rajametov, Myeong-Cheoul Cho, Hyo-Bong Jeong, Won-Byoung Chae
  Agriculture.2021; 11(7): 681.     CrossRef
• The Effect of Night Low Temperature on Agronomical Traits of Thirty-Nine Pepper Accessions (Capsicum annuum L.)
  Sherzod Nigmatullayevich Rajametov, Kwanuk Lee, Hyo-Bong Jeong, Myeong-Cheoul Cho, Chun-Woo Nam, Eun-Young Yang
  Agronomy.2021; 11(10): 1986.     CrossRef
• Heat Treatment in Two Tomato Cultivars: A Study of the Effect on Physiological and Growth Recovery
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Flowering time (heading date) of the rice plant is considered an important agronomic trait for environmental adaptation and grain yield. It is controlled by multiple genes and is regulated by different environmental factors, such as day length, temperature, soil moisture, etc. So far, approximately 125 genes regulating flowering process and floral organ identity or development directly or indirectly have been reported in rice. Among these genes, Heading date 3a (Hd3a), RICE FLOWERING LOCUS T1 (RFT1), Heading date 5 (Hd5), MORF-RELATED GENE702 (MRG702), Casein kinases, CKI and CK2α, Pseudo-Response Regulator 37 (PRR37), Hd gene family have been reported as the key genes regulating flowering time in rice; however, their functions are mostly inter-related. Hd3a and RFT1 that encode florigens, are known as the floral transition genes in rice. In rice, florigen immediately induces downstream genes in the shoot apical meristem (SAM) to start the transition from vegetative to reproductive phase. RFT1 gene regulates flowering time with pivotal action while Hd3a, regulates under long day conditions. The Hd5 gene regulates flowering time in variation of early heading for adaptation depending on environmental signals. MRG702, a reader protein, promotes flowering. Casein kinases, CKI and CK2α directly influence the function of the early heading regulator PRR37. Hd16/CKI hinders flowering time in the Ehd1-concerned pathway through phosphorylation of Ghd7 and PRR37. Natural variants of Hd1, PRR37, Ghd7, DTH8, Hd6, and Hd16 were found in the rice varieties that are cultivated presently in Asia and Europe, and their variants play significant roles in the down streaming of Ehd1 expression to delay flowering time in natural long day (LD) conditions.

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• Exogenous and Endogenous Signals: Critical Factors for Regulation of Flowering Time and Grain Yield in Rice
  E. Kariali, S. Panigrahi, P. K. Suna, P. K. Senapati, R. Das, P. Dwivedi
  Russian Journal of Plant Physiology.2025;[Epub]     CrossRef
• CRISPR-Cas technology based genome editing for modification of salinity stress tolerance responses in rice (Oryza sativa L.)
  Ibrahim Khan, Sikandar Khan, Yong Zhang, Jianping Zhou, Maryam Akhoundian, Sohail Ahmad Jan
  Molecular Biology Reports.2021; 48(4): 3605.     CrossRef

Flowering time is a very important agronomic trait in Brassica crops and regulation of the time is one of major factor in the breeding program. To understand the control of flowering time in Brassica rapa, we have carried out Br300K microarray with two contrasting Brassica inbred lines, Rapid Cycling B. rapa (RCBr) as rapid cycling type and B. rapa ssp. pekinensis inbred line Chiifu as slow flowering phenotype. Reproductive process-related genes were specifically expressed in RCBr, whereas environmental stimuli-responsive genes in Chiifu. Flowering stimulating genes, such as BrFT and BrSOC1, were preferentially expressed in RCBr, while flowering repressing genes, such as BrFLC and BrMAF4, expressed in Chiifu. Several paralogues present in B. rapa, BrFLCs and BrCOLs, were expressed with paralog-specific pattern depending on flowering phenotypes: i.e., BrFLC1 and BrFLC2, major floral repressors, were expressed in Chiifu, BrFLCL/BrFLC5 in RCBr and BrFLC3 in both plants. The expression of several flowering repressing genes was gradually decreased in RCBr growth, but increased in Chiifu growth. However, the expression of genes involved in photoperiodic flowering was no difference between these two plants under LD and SD conditions, indicating photoperiodic pathway is not major factor to distinguish fast vs. slow flowering in B. rapa. The mechanism underlined in the rapid or fast flowering of RCBr would be further elucidated in association with the controlling mechanism of its short life span.

Citations

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• Homeologs of Brassica SOC1, a central regulator of flowering time, are differentially regulated due to partitioning of evolutionarily conserved transcription factor binding sites in promoters
  Tanu Sri, Bharat Gupta, Shikha Tyagi, Anandita Singh
  Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution.2020; 147: 106777.     CrossRef
• Genome-wide analysis of spatiotemporal gene expression patterns during floral organ development in Brassica rapa
  Soo In Lee, Muthusamy Muthusamy, Muhammad Amjad Nawaz, Joon Ki Hong, Myung-Ho Lim, Jin A. Kim, Mi-Jeong Jeong
  Molecular Genetics and Genomics.2019; 294(6): 1403.     CrossRef
• Genome-wide identification of flowering time genes associated with vernalization and the regulatory flowering networks in Chinese cabbage
  Won Yong Jung, Areum Lee, Jae Sun Moon, Youn-Sung Kim, Hye Sun Cho
  Plant Biotechnology Reports.2018; 12(5): 347.     CrossRef
• Genome-wide analysis of gene expression to distinguish photoperiod-dependent and -independent flowering in Brassicaceae
  Hayoung Song, Hankuil Yi, Changhee Do, Ching-Tack Han, Ill-Sup Nou, Yoonkang Hur
  Genes & Genomics.2017; 39(2): 207.     CrossRef

An Agrobacterium-mediated transformation system was developed for the ornamental cherry species Prunus incisa. This system uses both an antibiotic resistance gene (NPTII) and a visible selectable marker, the green fluorescent protein (GFP), to select plants. Cells from leaf and root explants were transformed with a NPTII/GFP fusion gene, and selected visually using fluorescence microscopy. Transformed cells were then induced to undergo embryogenesis and reselected by growing on media containing kanamycin. The presence of the GFP/NPTII fusion gene in all parts of transgenic plants grown in the greenhouse for one year was confirmed by PCR and Southern blot analysis. This transformation and selection system will be useful in future work to introduce genes for pathogen resistance and ornamental traits into flowering cherry germplasm.