Functional Characterization of a Homolog of AtSOC1 Gene in Apple (Malus x domestica Borkh.)

摘要

The development of novel apple cultivars is a time-consuming process because of the long generation time. Therefore, shortened juvenility is an important breeding goal in apple. Flower initiation has been intensively studied in Arabidopsis and it is regulated by an integrated network of several genetic pathways. Numerous MADS-box transcription factors are involved in the transition from vegetative to reproductive growth. The key integrating genes in the flowering process are FT, SOC1 and LFY. We have recently identified and isolated two homologs of AtSOC1 from apple. To understand the role of MdSOCla, one of these homologs, in the apple flowering process, overexpression and knockout of this gene is being carried out in the model plants. We improved a new binary vector, in which we put the gene in both sense and antisense directions and transformed them into Arabidopsis and tobacco, through the Agrobacterium-mediated method. The transgenic plants are under investigation to verify if the overexpression of this gene could evoke precocious flowering and if knocking it out would cause a delayed flowering or any other phenotypic change.