Multiple FLC haplotypes defined by independent cis-regulatory variation underpin life history diversity in Arabidopsis thaliana
- Peijin Li1,
- Daniele Filiault2,
- Mathew S. Box1,7,
- Envel Kerdaffrec2,
- Cock van Oosterhout3,
- Amity M. Wilczek4,
- Johanna Schmitt5,
- Mark McMullan3,8,
- Joy Bergelson6,
- Magnus Nordborg2 and
- Caroline Dean1
- 1John Innes Centre, Norwich NR4 7UH, United Kingdom;
- 2Gregor Mendel Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences, 1030 Vienna, Austria;
- 3Department of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ, United Kingdom;
- 4Deep Spring College, Big Pine, California 93513, USA;
- 5University of California at Davis, Davis, California 95616, USA;
- 6Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA
- Corresponding author: caroline.dean{at}jic.ac.uk
Abstract
Relating molecular variation to phenotypic diversity is a central goal in evolutionary biology. In Arabidopsis thaliana, FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC) is a major determinant of variation in vernalization—the acceleration of flowering by prolonged cold. Here, through analysis of 1307 A. thaliana accessions, we identify five predominant FLC haplotypes defined by noncoding sequence variation. Genetic and transgenic experiments show that they are functionally distinct, varying in FLC expression level and rate of epigenetic silencing. Allelic heterogeneity at this single locus accounts for a large proportion of natural variation in vernalization that contributes to adaptation of A. thaliana.
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Footnotes
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↵8 The Genome Analysis Centre, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK.
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Supplemental material is available for this article.
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Article published online ahead of print. Article and publication date are online at http://www.genesdev.org/cgi/doi/10.1101/gad.245993.114.
Freely available online through the Genes & Development Open Access option.
- Received May 22, 2014.
- Accepted July 1, 2014.
This article, published in Genes & Development, is available under a Creative Commons License (Attribution 4.0 International), as described at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0.
