DETERMINATE and LATE FLOWERING Are Two TERMINAL FLOWER1/CENTRORADIALIS Homologs That Control Two Distinct Phases of Flowering Initiation and Development in Pea

Genes in the TERMINAL FLOWER1 (TFL1)/CENTRORADIALIS family are important key regulatory genes involved in the control of flowering time and floral architecture in several different plant species. To understand the functions of TFL1 homologs in pea, we isolated three TFL1 homologs, which we have designated PsTFL1a, PsTFL1b, and PsTFL1c. By genetic mapping and sequencing of mutant alleles, we demonstrate that PsTFL1a corresponds to the DETERMINATE (DET) gene and PsTFL1c corresponds to the LATE FLOWERING (LF) gene. DET acts to maintain the indeterminacy of the apical meristem during flowering, and consistent with this role, DET expression is limited to the shoot apex after floral initiation. LF delays the induction of flowering by lengthening the vegetative phase, and allelic variation at the LF locus is an important component of natural variation for flowering time in pea. The most severe class of alleles flowers early and carries either a deletion of the entire PsTFL1c gene or an amino acid substitution. Other natural and induced alleles for LF, with an intermediate flowering time phenotype, present no changes in the PsTFL1c amino acid sequence but affect LF transcript level in the shoot apex: low LF transcript levels are correlated with early flowering, and high LF transcript levels are correlated with late flowering. Thus, different TFL1 homologs control two distinct aspects of plant development in pea, whereas a single gene, TFL1, performs both functions in Arabidopsis. These results show that different species have evolved different strategies to control key developmental transitions and also that the genetic basis for natural variation in flowering time may differ among plant species.