Periodika: Plant Signaling and Behaviour | Laboratory of Biologically Active Compounds

The FLOWERING LOCUS T LIKE 2-1 gene of Chenopodium triggers precocious flowering in Arabidopsis seedlings

Phenotypes of primary transformants of Arabidopsis Col-0 carrying CfFTL2–1 under the complex metoxyfenozide-inducible promoter (Vge:TM-2:5×m:cfftl2–1), which flowered without chemical induction. Plants started to bolt immediately after germination. Some of them formed minuscule flowers (a, b, c), others produced tiny flower buds with long trichomes (d). All the plantlets died without generating viable seed. Photo: Lukáš Synek.

The FLOWERING LOCUS T like 2–1 gene of Chenopodium ficifolium and Chenopodium quinoa acts as a strong activator of flowering in Arabidopsis, triggering flowering at cotyledon stage and causing lethality when overexpressed.