Maternal plant vernalization exposure influences germination behavior of progeny

AUGE GA; LOGAN K BLAIR; HANNAH NEVILLE; KATHLEEN DONOHUE

Paris

Conferencia; The 26th International Conference on Arabidopsis Research; 2015

p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; direction: ltr; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: 120%; }p.western { font-family: "Liberation Serif","Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; }p.cjk { font-family: "Droid Sans Fallback","Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; }p.ctl { font-family: "FreeSans","Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; }Thegenetic basis of how seasonal environmental conditions experienced bymaternal plants influences the phenology of their offspring is poorlyknown, despite the fact that such maternal effects on progeny areintense and ecologically important. We studied the effect ofmaternal-plant vernalization (Vern) at the seedling stage on thegermination behavior of the progeny in 20 different ecotypes ofArabidopsis thaliana. We found that Vern of maternal plantsvery early in the life cycle increased germination of the progeny,even in ecotypes without Vern requirements for flowering. The resultis unexpected because prior study correlated increased FLOWERINGLOCUS C (FLC) expression with higher germination, yetVern decreases FLC-expression in the rosette stage. Inaddition, in ecotypes showing an effect of Vern on progenygermination, FLC levels along the life cycle did notstrongly correlate with germination probability. Thus, our resultssuggest that FLC-mediated Vern is uncoupled fromFLC-mediated germination. However, we found evidence thatother Vern-related genes influence germination, and this regulationmay be independent of FLC. Preliminary data also shows thatincreased VERNALIZATION INSENSITIVE 3 (VIN3)expression during silique development of Vern plants might be relatedto the increase in progeny germination. Our results highlight thepotential for seasonal cues early in the life cycle to influence thephenological performance of the next generation.