Progress has been made in the genetic study of the flowering schedule of low-temperature regulated plants in winter

published online in the journal Nature a research paper entitled "
(the molecular process of plant genes activated from the beginning in embryonic development) " by the research team of He Yuehui of the Shanghai Research Center for Plant Adversity Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. In this study, the team further revealed the molecular mechanism of erasing 'low temperature memory' early in embryonic development after flowering, activating the FLC gene so that the next generation would have to go through low winter temperatures to flower in spring.
it is understood that the team reported in December 2016 in Nature Genetics how patterned flowering plant amoeba in the seedling phase, using long-term low temperature (winter) silencing to inhibit the expression of the key gene FLC and then maintain its silent ('low temperature memory') at room temperature, a mechanism that allows plants to flower in subsequent spring (springing).
the effect of springing refers to the phenomenon that some plants must go through a period of continuous low temperature in order to move from the nutrient growth stage to the reproductive stage growth stage. How plants respond to and remember long-term low-temperature treatment, springing, has always been a hot topic in the study of ethongenetics and developmental biology. It is of great theoretical and practical value to analyze how plants respond to low temperatures in winter and to "remember" their low temperature experiences in winter and to flower in time. It ensures that plants avoid flowering in cold winters and in warm springs to help with stodd. The analysis of this mechanism is closely related to the selection of crop cultivation season and the domestication of cross-regional introduction.
The team reported last year at Nature Genetics that during the growth of amorphic mustard, a class of plant-specific gene expression regulators identified DNA modules on the FLC gene (cryogenic memory elements) to silence FLC expression, and that these factors 'stuck' at FLC bits after rising temperatures to maintain their silence. This finding explains the molecular and presupposive genetic mechanisms of the athropomorphic mustard response and memory of low temperatures in winter during the nutritional growth phase (seedling stage).
In addition, the study revealed the molecular mechanism of erasing 'low temperature memory' early in the development of flowering embryos and reactivateing the FLC gene; After plants in the seedlings experience low winter temperatures, the FLC bit remains closed even if spring temperatures have picked up, and this closure continues until adulthood flowers. After flowering, FLC is reactivated in the early stages of embryonic development; This 'fetal' activation state is passed on to the seedlings, thus forming a 'fetal memory' of the seedling period (like an adult's childhood memory). Because FLC is active in autumn seedlings (seeds germinate in autumn), this prevents plants from flowering before or during winter.
experts say the study sheds light on the new molecular mechanism of reprogramming chromatin states in early plant embryos, and also explains how gene activation in embryos is transmitted to the post-developmental oso-genetic mechanism, which is an important breakthrough in flowering regulatory molecules and genetic mechanisms. This study not only has important theoretical significance, but also provides a new target for its production application in crop flower regulation.
it is understood that He Yuehui of the Plant Environmental Surface Genetics Research Group at the Center for Adversity is the first author of the communication, and Tao Zeng, an associate researcher, is the first author; The work was funded by the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Ministry of Science and Technology. (Source: Science Network Huang Xin)