Modulation of flowering time and growth cessation in hardwood trees

摘要

This invention relates to the identification and characterization of poplar PFT genes and their role in the induction of early flowering and repression of short-day induced growth cessation in perennial plant species. This has important applications for forestry, for example in tree breeding programs.

主权项

1. A method of producing a transgenic hardwood tree comprising:
a) incorporating a heterologous nucleic acid encoding a Populus Flowering locus T (PFT) polypeptide, or a vector comprising such a sequence, into a hardwood tree cell species by means of transformation, and; b) regenerating the transgenic hardwood tree from one or more transformed cells, wherein the PFT polypeptide comprises an amino acid sequence which shares greater than 80% sequence identity with the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, wherein the heterologous nucleic acid is operably linked to a promoter and is expressed in the transgenic hardwood tree, and wherein the transgenic hardwood tree shows early flowering relative to a control hardwood tree.