Journal Article

A conserved molecular basis for photoperiod adaptation in two temperate legumes

Unité de recherche en génomique végétale (URGV) ; Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Université d'Évry-Val-d'Essonne (UEVE)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Ridge, Stephen, S, Vander Schoor, Jacqueline K., J. K, Dalmais, Marion, M, Stress Abiotiques et Différenciation des Végétaux Cultivés (SADV) ; Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Université de Lille, Sciences et Technologies, Wenden, Bénédicte, B, Australian Research Council [DP0878723]; New Zealand Foundation for Research Science and Technology [C10X0704]; Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique Missions des Relations Internationales grant; Genoplante (project SNPEA) [ANR06-GPLA019], Rameau, Catherine, C, Laurie, Rebecca E., R. E, Dept Biochem ; University of Otago [Dunedin, Nouvelle-Zélande], Weller, James L., J. L, Hecht, Valerie F. G., V. F. G, Sch Plant Sci ; University of Tasmania [Hobart] (UTAS), Institut Jean-Pierre Bourgin (IJPB) ; Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Agro

2012

Overview

Legumes were among the first plant species to be domesticated, and accompanied cereals in expansion of agriculture from the Fertile Crescent into diverse environments across the Mediterranean basin, Europe, Central Asia, and the Indian subcontinent. Although several recent studies have outlined the molecular basis for domestication and eco-geographic adaptation in the two main cereals from this region, wheat and barley, similar questions remain largely unexplored in their legume counterparts. Here we identify two major loci controlling differences in photoperiod response between wild and domesticated pea, and show that one of these, HIGH RESPONSE TO PHOTOPERIOD (HR), is an ortholog of EARLY FLOWERING 3 (ELF3), a gene involved in circadian clock function. We found that a significant proportion of flowering time variation in global pea germplasm is controlled by HR, with a single, widespread functional variant conferring altered circadian rhythms and the reduced photoperiod response associated with the spring habit. We also present evidence that ELF3 has a similar role in lentil, another major legume crop, with a distinct functional variant contributing to reduced photoperiod response in cultivars widely deployed in short-season environments. Our results identify the factor likely to have permitted the successful prehistoric expansion of legume cultivation to Northern Europe, and define a conserved genetic basis for major adaptive changes in flowering phenology and growth habit in an important crop group.

• Publisher: National Academy of Sciences,CCSD,National Acad Sciences
• Subject: Acclimatization - genetics / Adaptation, Physiological - genetics / Agricultural sciences / Alleles / barley / basins / Biological Sciences / Central Asia / Cereals / Circadian Clocks / Circadian rhythm / Circadian Rhythm - genetics / Circadian rhythms / Cultivars / Cultivation / Domestication / Europe / Fabaceae - physiology / Flowering / Gene Expression Regulation, Plant / Gene loci / genes / Genes, Plant / Genetic loci / Genetic mutation / Genetic Variation / germplasm / Grain cultivation / growth habit / Haplotypes / India / Legumes / Lens Plant - metabolism / Lentils / Life Sciences / loci / Models, Genetic / Molecular Sequence Data / Northern European region / Peas / Phenology / Phenotype / Photoperiod / Pisum sativum - genetics / Pisum sativum - metabolism / Plant species / Plants / Seasons / spring / temporal variation / wheat
• ISBN: 0003131237000