Fluctuating, warm temperatures decrease the effect of a key floral repressor on flowering time in Arabidopsis thaliana
- 17 December 2015
- journal article
- Published by Wiley in New Phytologist
- Vol. 210 (2), 564-576
- https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.13799
Abstract
The genetic basis of growth and development is often studied in constant laboratory environments; however, the environmental conditions that organisms experience in nature are often much more dynamic. We examined how daily temperature fluctuations, average temperature, day length and vernalization influence the flowering time of 59 genotypes of Arabidopsis thaliana with allelic perturbations known to affect flowering time. For a subset of genotypes, we also assessed treatment effects on morphology and growth. We identified 17 genotypes, many of which have high levels of the floral repressor FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC), that bolted dramatically earlier in fluctuating - as opposed to constant - warm temperatures (mean = 22°C). This acceleration was not caused by transient VERNALIZATION INSENSITIVE 3-mediated vernalization, differential growth rates or exposure to high temperatures, and was not apparent when the average temperature was cool (mean = 12°C). Further, in constant temperatures, contrary to physiological expectations, these genotypes flowered more rapidly in cool than in warm environments. Fluctuating temperatures often reversed these responses, restoring faster bolting in warm conditions. Independently of bolting time, warm fluctuating temperature profiles also caused morphological changes associated with shade avoidance or 'high-temperature' phenotypes. Our results suggest that previous studies have overestimated the effect of the floral repressor FLC on flowering time by using constant temperature laboratory conditions.Keywords
Funding Information
- National Science Foundation (EF‐0425759, DEB‐1020111)
- National Science Foundation (EF-0425759, DEB-1020111)
- NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology (1202838)
This publication has 55 references indexed in Scilit:
- Fitting Linear Mixed-Effects Models Usinglme4Journal of Statistical Software, 2015
- Control of flowering by ambient temperatureJournal of Experimental Botany, 2014
- The genetic basis of flowering responses to seasonal cuesNature Reviews Genetics, 2012
- An augmented Arabidopsis phenology model reveals seasonal temperature control of flowering timeNew Phytologist, 2012
- Acclimation of photosynthesis to temperature in Arabidopsis thaliana and Brassica oleraceaPhotosynthetica, 2008
- Potent Induction of Arabidopsis thaliana Flowering by Elevated Growth TemperaturePLoS Genetics, 2006
- FLOWERING LOCUS CMediates Natural Variation in the High-Temperature Response of theArabidopsisCircadian ClockPlant Cell, 2006
- A thermosensory pathway controlling flowering time in Arabidopsis thalianaNature Genetics, 2003
- Matching field and laboratory environments: effects of neglecting daily temperature variation on insect reaction normsJournal of Evolutionary Biology, 1995
- Data from: Fluctuating, warm temperatures decrease the effect of a key floral repressor on flowering time in Arabidopsis thaliana