Open AccessCharacterization of three VERNALIZATION INSENSITIVE3‐like (VIL) homologs in wild wheat, Aegilops tauschii Coss
Author(s) -
Koyama Kayoko,
Hatano Hitoshi,
Nakamura Jun,
Takumi Shigeo
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
hereditas
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.819
H-Index - 50
eISSN - 1601-5223
pISSN - 0018-0661
DOI - 10.1111/j.1601-5223.2012.02255.x
Subject(s) - aegilops tauschii , vernalization , biology , genetics , gene , common wheat , homologous chromosome , arabidopsis , aegilops , ploidy , genome , chromosome , mutant
Control of flowering time is an adaptive trait of plants for different growth habitats. A vernalization requirement is a major genetic component determining wheat flowering time. Arabidopsis VERNALIZATION INSENSITIVE3 ( VIN3 ) and VIN3‐like 1 ( VIL1 ) play critical roles in the vernalization pathway of flowering, and three wheat VIL homologs are upregulated by vernalization in einkorn wheat. To study the relationship between vernalization and wheat VIL homologs in Aegilops tauschii , the D‐genome progenitor of common wheat, we isolated three cDNAs orthologous to the einkorn wheat VIL genes. The three Ae. tauschii VIL genes showed many single nucleotide polymorphisms including non‐synonymous substitutions relative to the einkorn orthologs. In addition, high rates of non‐synonymous and synonymous substitutions were revealed by intraspecific variation analysis of the AetVIL sequences, suggesting adaptive evolution at the AetVIL loci. Quantitative RT‐PCR analysis was conducted to examine the time course of expression of the VIL genes during vernalization. Of the three AetVIL genes, AetVIL2 was upregulated after one week of low‐temperature treatment, and its expression pattern was distinct for winter and spring habit accessions. These observations strongly suggest that AetVIL2 is associated with the vernalization‐responsive pathway in Ae. tauschii .