Effect of Ppd-1 on the expression of flowering-time genes in vegetative and reproductive growth stages of wheat

The photoperiod sensitivity gene Ppd-1 influences the timing of flowering in temperate cereals such as wheat and barley. The effect of Ppd-1 on the expression of flowering-time genes was assessed by examining the expression levels of the vernalization genes VRN1 and VRN3/WFT and of two CONSTANS-like genes, WCO1 and T alpha Hd1, during vegetative and reproductive growth stages. Two near-isogenic lines (NILs) were used: the first carried a photoperiod-insensitive allele of Ppd-1 (Ppd-1 alpha-NIL), the other, a photoperiod-sensitive allele (Ppd-1b-NIL). We found that the expression pattern of VRN1 was similar in Ppd-1 alpha-NIL and Ppd-1b-NIL plants, suggesting that VRN1 is not regulated by Ppd-1. Under long day conditions, VRN3/WFT showed similar expression patterns in Ppd-1 alpha-NIL and Ppd-1b-NIL plants. However, expression differed greatly under short day conditions: VRN3/WFT expression was detected in Ppd-1 alpha-NIL plants at the 5-leaf stage when they transited from vegetative to reproductive growth; very low expression was present in Ppd-1b-NIL throughout all growth stages. Thus, the Ppd-1b allele acts to down-regulate VRN3/WFT under short day conditions. WCO1 showed high levels of expression at the vegetative stage, which decreased during the phase transition and reproductive growth stages in both Ppd-1 alpha-NIL and Ppd-1b-NIL plants under short day conditions. By contrast to WCO1, T alpha Hd1 was up-regulated during the reproductive stage. The level of T alpha Hd1 expression was much higher in Ppd-1 alpha-NIL than the Ppd-1b-NIL plants, suggesting that the Ppd-1b allele down-regulates TaHd1 under short day conditions. The present study indicates that down-regulation of VRN3/WFT together with TaHd1 is the cause of late flowering in the Ppd-1b-NIL plants under short day conditions.