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Molecular and Structural Characterization of Barley Vernalization Genes

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Abstract

Vernalization, the requirement of a period of low temperature to induce transition from the vegetative to reproductive state, is an evolutionarily and economically important trait in the Triticeae. The genetic basis of vernalization in cultivated barley (Hordeum vulgare subsp. vulgare) can be defined using the two-locus VRN-H1/VRN-H2 model. We analyzed the allelic characteristics of HvBM5A, the candidate gene for VRN-H1, from ten cultivated barley accessions and one wild progenitor accession (subsp. spontaneum), representing the three barley growth habits – winter, facultative, and spring. We present multiple lines of evidence, including sequence, linkage map location, and expression, that support HvBM5A being VRN-H1. While the predicted polypeptides from different growth habits are identical, spring accessions contain a deletion in the first intron of HvBM5A that may be important for regulation. While spring HvBM5A alleles are typified by the intron-localized deletion, in some cases, the promoter may also determine the allele type. The presence/absence of the tightly linked ZCCT-H gene family members on chromosome 4H perfectly correlates with growth habit and we conclude that one of the three ZCCT-H genes is VRN-H2. The VRN-H2 locus is present in winter genotypes and deleted from the facultative and spring genotypes analyzed in this study, suggesting the facultative growth habit (cold tolerant, vernalization unresponsive) is a result of deletion of the VRN-H2 locus and presence of a winter HvBM5A allele. All reported barley vernalization QTLs can be explained by the two-locus VRN-H1/VRN-H2 model based on the presence/absence of VRN-H2 and a winter vs. spring HvBM5A allele.

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Abbreviations

gDNA:

genomic DNA

InDel:

insertion/deletion

LD:

long day

MITE:

miniature inverted-repeat transposable element

QTL:

quantitative trait locus

RT-PCR:

reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction

SD:

short day

SNP:

single nucleotide polymorphism

SSR:

simple sequence repeat

UTR:

untranslated region

VRN:

vernalization

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Crop and Soil Science, Oregon State University, 253 Crop Science Building, Corvallis, OR, 97331, USA

    Jarislav von Zitzewitz, Péter Szűcs, Patrick M. Hayes & Jeffrey S. Skinner

  2. Department of Horticulture, Oregon State University, 4017 Ag. and Life Sci. Bldg., Corvallis, OR, 97331-7304, USA

    Tony H.H. Chen & Jeffrey S. Skinner

  3. Agricultural Research Institute of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, H-2462, Martonvásár, Hungary

    Péter Szűcs

  4. Department of Agronomy & Range Science, University of California, Davis, CA, 95616, USA

    Jorge Dubcovsky & Liuling Yan

  5. Experimental Institute for Cereal Research, I−29017, Fiorenzuola d’Arda, PC, Italy

    Enrico Francia

  6. Department of Agricultural Sciences, Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia, I−42100, Reggio Emilia, Italy

    Nicola Pecchioni

  7. Aula Dei Experimental Station, CSIC, E−50059, Zaragoza, Spain

    Ana Casas

Authors
  1. Jarislav von Zitzewitz
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  2. Péter Szűcs
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  3. Jorge Dubcovsky
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  4. Liuling Yan
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  5. Enrico Francia
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  6. Nicola Pecchioni
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  7. Ana Casas
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  8. Tony H.H. Chen
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  9. Patrick M. Hayes
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  10. Jeffrey S. Skinner
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Patrick M. Hayes.

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von Zitzewitz, J., Szűcs, P., Dubcovsky, J. et al. Molecular and Structural Characterization of Barley Vernalization Genes. Plant Mol Biol 59, 449–467 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11103-005-0351-2

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