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Deciphering the FT pathway by next generation sequencing and transcriptomics
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Edité par CCSD -
The timing of flowering is crucial in determining the final production of seeds and fruits. In Arabidopsis, FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) is a component of the photoperiodic pathway and its transcription is activated under long days. FT protein is expressed in the leaf vascular tissue and then moves through the phloem to the shoot apex, where it causes changes in gene expression that reprogram the shoot apical meristem to form flowers instead of leaves. To deepen our knowledge of the FT pathway, we performed different genetic and genomics approaches. First, we have generated ft-10 tsf-1 double mutants, which contain null alleles of FT and its closest relative TWIN SISTER OF FT (TSF), and GAS1:FT ft-10 tsf-1 transgenics that misexpresses FT specifically in the companion cells of the minor veins. Then, we have generated two EMS mutant collections from both genetic backgrounds and the screening of these collections resulted in the identification of several plants displaying alterations in flowering time. A late mutant in GAS1:FT ft-10 tsf-1 (LGF) has already been sequenced by Next Generation Sequencing (NGS). The bioinformatic analysis of the mutant genome sequence resulted in the identification of mutations in two genes that may delay flowering in GAS1:FT ft-10 tsf-1. In parallel, we have also studied transcriptomic changes associated to FT misexpression in leaves by using Tiling Arrays and identified genes whose expression is affected by FT. Transgenic plants misexpressing some of these genes show alterations in flowering time. In summary, we show how the combination of NGS and transcriptomic tools can contribute to identifying novel aspects of the FT pathway