This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Supplemental Data All Versions of this Article: 19/5/1488    most recent tpc.107.051920v1 Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Related articles in Plant Cell Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (11) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Lin, M.-K. Articles by Lucas, W. J. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Lin, M.-K. Articles by Lucas, W. J. Agricola Articles by Lin, M.-K. Articles by Lucas, W. J.

FLOWERING LOCUS T Protein May Act as the Long-Distance Florigenic Signal in the Cucurbits^[W]

^a Section of Plant Biology, College of Biological Sciences, University of California, Davis, California 95616
^b AgriGenesis BioSciences, Auckland 1140, New Zealand
^c Proteomics Core Facility, Genome Center, University of California, Davis, California 95616
^d Departmento de Biotecnologia y Bioingenieria, Centro de Investigación y Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Zacatenco 07360, Mexico
^e Department of Plant Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721-0036

¹ To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail wjlucas{at}ucdavis.edu; fax 530-752-5410.

Cucurbita moschata, a cucurbit species responsive to inductive short-day (SD) photoperiods, and Zucchini yellow mosaic virus (ZYMV) were used to test whether long-distance movement of FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) mRNA or FT is required for floral induction. Ectopic expression of FT by ZYMV was highly effective in mediating floral induction of long-day (LD)–treated plants. Moreover, the infection zone of ZYMV was far removed from floral meristems, suggesting that FT transcripts do not function as the florigenic signal in this system. Heterografting demonstrated efficient transmission of a florigenic signal from flowering Cucurbita maxima stocks to LD-grown C. moschata scions. Real-time RT-PCR performed on phloem sap collected from C. maxima stocks detected no FT transcripts, whereas mass spectrometry of phloem sap proteins revealed the presence of Cm-FTL1 and Cm-FTL2. Importantly, studies on LD- and SD-treated C. moschata plants established that Cmo-FTL1 and Cmo-FTL2 are regulated by photoperiod at the level of movement into the phloem and not by transcription. Finally, mass spectrometry of florally induced heterografted C. moschata scions revealed that C. maxima FT, but not FT mRNA, crossed the graft union in the phloem translocation stream. Collectively, these studies are consistent with FT functioning as a component of the florigenic signaling system in the cucurbits.

Related articles in Plant Cell:

Phloem-Borne FT Signals Flowering in Cucurbits

Nancy A. Eckardt
Plant Cell 2007 19: 1435-1438. [Full Text]  

This article has been cited by other articles:

				J. D. Wilkie, M. Sedgley, and T. Olesen Regulation of floral initiation in horticultural trees J. Exp. Bot., September 1, 2008; 59(12): 3215 - 3228. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				B. Schmitt, R. Stadler, and N. Sauer Immunolocalization of Solanaceous SUT1 Proteins in Companion Cells and Xylem Parenchyma: New Perspectives for Phloem Loading and Transport Plant Physiology, September 1, 2008; 148(1): 187 - 199. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				Compiled by, F. Tooke, T. Chiurugwi, and N. Battey Flowering Newsletter bibliography for 2007 J. Exp. Bot., July 18, 2008; (2008) ern109v1. [Full Text] [PDF]

				P. M. Neumann Coping Mechanisms for Crop Plants in Drought-prone Environments Ann. Bot., May 1, 2008; 101(7): 901 - 907. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. Aki, M. Shigyo, R. Nakano, T. Yoneyama, and S. Yanagisawa Nano Scale Proteomics Revealed the Presence of Regulatory Proteins Including Three FT-Like proteins in Phloem and Xylem Saps from Rice Plant Cell Physiol., May 1, 2008; 49(5): 767 - 790. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. Komiya, A. Ikegami, S. Tamaki, S. Yokoi, and K. Shimamoto Hd3a and RFT1 are essential for flowering in rice Development, February 15, 2008; 135(4): 767 - 774. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. Ruonala, P. L.H. Rinne, J. Kangasjarvi, and C. van der Schoot CENL1 Expression in the Rib Meristem Affects Stem Elongation and the Transition to Dormancy in Populus PLANT CELL, January 1, 2008; 20(1): 59 - 74. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				O. N. Danilevskaya, X. Meng, Z. Hou, E. V. Ananiev, and C. R. Simmons A Genomic and Expression Compendium of the Expanded PEBP Gene Family from Maize Plant Physiology, January 1, 2008; 146(1): 250 - 264. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. Chatterjee, A. K. Banerjee, and D. J. Hannapel A BELL1-Like Gene of Potato Is Light Activated and Wound Inducible Plant Physiology, December 1, 2007; 145(4): 1435 - 1443. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				V. Coneva, T. Zhu, and J. Colasanti Expression differences between normal and indeterminate1 maize suggest downstream targets of ID1, a floral transition regulator in maize J. Exp. Bot., October 10, 2007; (2007) erm217v1. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				Y. Kobayashi and D. Weigel Move on up, it's time for change mobile signals controlling photoperiod-dependent flowering Genes & Dev., October 1, 2007; 21(19): 2371 - 2384. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. Hayama, B. Agashe, E. Luley, R. King, and G. Coupland A Circadian Rhythm Set by Dusk Determines the Expression of FT Homologs and the Short-Day Photoperiodic Flowering Response in Pharbitis PLANT CELL, October 1, 2007; 19(10): 2988 - 3000. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				N. A. Eckardt Phloem-Borne FT Signals Flowering in Cucurbits PLANT CELL, May 1, 2007; 19(5): 1435 - 1438. [Full Text] [PDF]