Abstract
Genes in the FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) and TERMINAL FLOWER 1 (TFL1) family have been shown to be important in the control of the switch between vegetative and reproductive growth in several plant species. We have isolated nine member of the FT/TFL1 family from Lombardy poplar (Populus nigra L. var. italica). We determined the PnTFL1 is a functional gene in the TFL1 clade of Lombardy poplar by the analyses of its expression levels and pattern, and by the phenotypes of transgenic Arabidopsis over-expressing this gene. Then, we produced PnTFL1-RNAi transgenic poplar, and these transgenic poplars showed early flowering phenotypes. The PnFT1 and the PnFT2 is functional FT gene in Lombardy poplar by the similar analyses of the TFL1 clade. On the other hand, the transgenic poplar that over-expressing the PnFT1 or the PnFT2 never flowered by higher expression of those gene.
