RT Journal Article
T1 Potato CONSTANS is involved in photoperiodic tuberization in a graft‐transmissible manner
A1 González‐Schain, Nahuel
A1 Díaz Mendoza, María Mercedes
A1 Żurczak, Marek
A1 Suárez‐López, Paula
AB CONSTANS (CO) is involved in the photoperiodic control of plant developmental processes, including flowering in several species and seasonal growth cessation and bud set in trees. It has been proposed that CO could also affect the day-length regulation of tuber induction in Solanum tuberosum (potato), a plant of great agricultural relevance. To address this question, we examined the role of CO in potato. A potato CO-like gene, StCO, was identified and found to be highly similar to a previously reported potato gene of unknown function. Potato plants overexpressing StCO tuberized later than wild-type plants under a weakly inductive photoperiod. StCO silencing promoted tuberization under both repressive and weakly inductive photoperiods, but did not have any effect under strongly inductive short days, demonstrating that StCO represses tuberization in a photoperiod-dependent manner. The effect of StCO on tuber induction was transmitted through grafts. In addition, StCO affected the mRNA levels of StBEL5 – a tuberization promoter, the mRNA of which moves long distances in potato plants – and StFT/StSP6A, a protein highly similar to FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT), which is a key component of systemic flowering signals in other species. We also found that StFT/StSP6A transcript levels correlate with the induction of tuber formation in wild-type plants. These results show that StCO plays an important role in photoperiodic tuberization and, together with the recent demonstration that StFT/StSP6A promotes tuberization, indicate that the CO/FT module participates in controlling this process. Moreover, they support the notion that StCO is involved in the expression of long-distance regulatory signals in potato, as CO does in other species.
PB Wiley
SN 0960-7412
YR 2012
FD 2012
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/96157
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/96157
LA eng
NO González‐Schain, Nahuel D., et al. «Potato CONSTANS Is Involved in Photoperiodic Tuberization in a Graft‐transmissible Manner». The Plant Journal, vol. 70, n.o 4, mayo de 2012, pp. 678-90. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-313x.2012.04909.x
NO This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (grants BIO2002-00933, BIO2005-00717, BIO2008-00760, all co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund, and CSD2007-00036) and the Generalitat de Catalunya (2005SGR-00182 and Xarxa de Referència en Biotecnologia). PS-L was supported by a Ramón y Cajal contract and the I3 Program from the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science.
NO Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia (España)
NO Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (España)
NO Generalitat de Catalunya
NO European Commission
DS Docta Complutense
RD 5 abr 2025