Identification of a soybean MOTHER OF FT AND TFL1 homolog involved in regulation of seed germination

PLoS One. 2014 Jun 16;9(6):e99642. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0099642. eCollection 2014.

Abstract

Seed germination is an important event in the life cycle of seed plants, and is controlled by complex and coordinated genetic networks. Many genes involved in the regulation of this process have been identified in different plant species so far. Recent studies in both Arabidopsis and wheat have uncovered a new role of MOTHER OF FT AND TFL1 (MFT) in seed germination. Here, we reported a homolog of MFT in soybean (GmMFT) which strongly expressed in seeds. Detailed expression analysis showed that the mRNA level of GmMFT increased with seed development but declined during seed germination. The transcription of GmMFT also responded to exogenous application of ABA and GA3. Ectopic expression of GmMFT CDS in Arabidopsis moderately inhibited seed germination. All these evidences suggest that GmMFT may be a negative regulator of seed germination.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Abscisic Acid / pharmacology
  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Arabidopsis Proteins / genetics
  • Carrier Proteins / genetics
  • Carrier Proteins / physiology*
  • Conserved Sequence
  • Flowers / growth & development
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental / drug effects
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Plant / drug effects
  • Genes, Plant
  • Germination / genetics
  • Germination / physiology*
  • Gibberellins / pharmacology
  • Glycine max / genetics*
  • Glycine max / growth & development
  • Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Plant Proteins / genetics
  • Plant Proteins / physiology*
  • Plants, Genetically Modified / genetics
  • Plants, Genetically Modified / growth & development
  • Protein Sorting Signals / physiology
  • Recombinant Fusion Proteins / metabolism
  • Seeds / metabolism
  • Sequence Alignment
  • Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
  • Species Specificity
  • Transcription, Genetic / drug effects
  • Triticum / genetics

Substances

  • Arabidopsis Proteins
  • Carrier Proteins
  • Gibberellins
  • Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins
  • MFT protein, Arabidopsis
  • Plant Proteins
  • Protein Sorting Signals
  • Recombinant Fusion Proteins
  • Abscisic Acid
  • gibberellic acid

Grants and funding

This work was partly supported by 973 Program (2010CB125906), 863 program (2013AA102602), Transgenic program (2011ZX08009-001 and 2011ZX08004-005), and the National Natural Science Founds (31000681). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.