Natural haplotypes of FLM non-coding sequences fine-tune flowering time in ambient spring temperatures in Arabidopsis

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Abstract

Cool ambient temperatures are major cues determining flowering time in spring. The mechanisms promoting or delaying flowering in response to ambient temperature changes are only beginning to be understood. In Arabidopsis thaliana, FLOWERING LOCUS M (FLM) regulates flowering in the ambient temperature range and FLM is transcribed and alternatively spliced in a temperature-dependent manner. We identify polymorphic promoter and intronic sequences required for FLM expression and splicing. In transgenic experiments covering 69% of the available sequence variation in two distinct sites, we show that variation in the abundance of the FLM-ß splice form strictly correlate (R2 = 0.94) with flowering time over an extended vegetative period. The FLM polymorphisms lead to changes in FLM expression (PRO2+) but may also affect FLM intron 1 splicing (INT6+). This information could serve to buffer the anticipated negative effects on agricultural systems and flowering that may occur during climate change.

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Ulrich Lutz

Plant Systems Biology, Technische Universität München, Freising, Germany

Competing interests
The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
Thomas Nussbaumer

Computational Systems Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria

Competing interests
The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
Manuel Spannagl

Plant Genome and Systems Biology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Neuherberg, Germany

Competing interests
The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
Julia Diener

Plant Systems Biology, Technische Universität München, Freising, Germany

Competing interests
The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
Klaus FX Mayer

Plant Genome and Systems Biology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Neuherberg, Germany

Competing interests
The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
Claus Schwechheimer

Plant Systems Biology, Technische Universität München, Freising, Germany

For correspondence
claus.schwechheimer@wzw.tum.de

Competing interests
The authors declare that no competing interests exist.

"This ORCID iD identifies the author of this article:" 0000-0003-0269-2330

Funding

Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (SPP1530)

Claus Schwechheimer

Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (SFB924)

Klaus FX Mayer
Claus Schwechheimer

The funders had no role in study design, data collection and interpretation, or the decision to submit the work for publication.

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This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License permitting unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.