1. Subfunctionalisation and self-repression of duplicated E1 homologues finetunes soybean flowering and adaptation.
- Author
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Fang C, Sun Z, Li S, Su T, Wang L, Dong L, Li H, Li L, Kong L, Yang Z, Lin X, Zatybekov A, Liu B, Kong F, and Lu S
- Subjects
- Adaptation, Physiological genetics, Promoter Regions, Genetic genetics, Gene Duplication, Plants, Genetically Modified, Phylogeny, Genes, Plant, Glycine max genetics, Glycine max metabolism, Flowers genetics, Flowers growth & development, Gene Expression Regulation, Plant, Plant Proteins genetics, Plant Proteins metabolism, Photoperiod
- Abstract
Soybean is a photoperiod-sensitive staple crop. Its photoperiodic flowering has major consequences for latitudinal adaptation and grain yield. Here, we identify and characterise a flowering locus named Time of flower 4b (Tof4b), which encodes E1-Like b (E1Lb), a homologue of the key soybean floral repressor E1. Tof4b protein physically associates with the promoters of two FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) genes to repress their transcription and delay flowering to impart soybean adaptation to high latitudes. Three E1 homologues undergo subfunctionalisation and show differential subcellular localisation. Moreover, they all possess self-repression capability and each suppresses the two homologous counterparts. Subfunctionalisation and the transcriptional regulation of E1 genes collectively finetune flowering time and high-latitude adaptation in soybean. We propose a model for the functional fate of the three E1 genes after the soybean whole-genome duplication events, refine the molecular mechanisms underlying high-latitude adaption, and provide a potential molecular-breeding resource., (© 2024. The Author(s).)
- Published
- 2024
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