The FT-like gene PehFT in petunia responds to photoperiod and light quality but is not the main gene promoting light quality-associated flowering

Abstract

In Arabidopsis, flowering is delayed under red light and induced under far red light and blue light. Studies suggest that the florigen, FLOWERING LOCUS T, is involved in the control of light quality-associated flowering in Arabidopsis. In petunia, similar to Arabidopsis, flowering is delayed under red light and induced under blue light, however its mechanism still remains unknown. Here we isolated a gene which has 75% amino acid sequence similarity with Arabidopsis FT (AtFT), named PehFT. By overexpressing PehFT in Arbidopsis and petunia, we tested its ability to induce flowering. Also, by conducting expression analyses of PehFT under different light quality treatments, we tested its response to light quality. We concluded that PehFT, like AtFT, is a gene which responds to photoperiod and light quality, but unlike AtFT, is not the main gene controlling the light quality-associated flowering.