Plant development IV - Epigenetics and plant reproduction Flashcards
Why is flowering advantageous?
- pollinator attraction
- increased fertilisation chances
- further development (fruit) allows improved seed dispersal
Describe the promoters of the floral transition
- hormonal signalling
- light quality
- photoperiod
- warm temperature
- nutrients
Describe enablers of the floral transition
- vernalisation
Characterise a plant’s life cycle
- adulthood
- insensitive phases
Describe adulthood in plants
stage at which the SAM is receptive to flowering stimuli
Describe what allows the transition to adulthood in plants
sugar levels in the leaf stimulate expression of a microRNA that inhibits a class of TFs
What is leaf sugar quantity a measure of?
amount reserved for reproduction
What might stop a plant from flowering?
- cold
- stress
Describe circadian rhythms - the basics
oscillations of biological parameters within a 24h period, entrained by exogenous cues
Describe circadian rhythms - the specifics
- environmental inputs lead to entrainment pathways
- circadian gating of entrainment and outputs
- circadian oscillation
- output pathways
- changes in gene rhythm of transcription, physiology and biochemistry
Describe short-day plants
flower when an uninterrupted period of darkness exceeds a critical night length
Describe long-day plants
flower when a period of darkness is less than a critical night length threshold
Which wavelengths of light promote flower transitions?
red (via phytochromes) and blue (via FKF1)
FKF1
LOV-domain containing photoreceptors
Describe the doincidence model of plant response to light change
plant should be receptive.on circadian bases, to the floral light stimulus
- internal clock sets the light sensitivity of the plant
How do plants perceive the photoperiod?
- Pr is synthesised
- Pr becomes Pfr on exposure to red light
- Pfr either goes to enzymatic destruction, or is slowly converted to darkness (under far-red light)
How is light and temperature detected by a plant?
phytochrome B
Describe active phytochrome B
- represses floral transition in Arabidopsis
- 27°C stimulates reversion to the inactive form
Describe the relationship between phyB and temperature
positively correlated (not linear).
Give examples of day-neutral plants
- Phaseulus vulgaris
- Abronia villosa
Describe day-neutral plants
- species adapted to live at tropical/equatorial latitudes where day and night length does not change
- species that need to flower when conditions are permissive
Describe the hormonal control of flowering
- gibberellin-deficient mutants exhibit delayed flowering, dependent upon DELLA proteins
- long-day photoperiods induce an increase in active GA levels.
List some GAs
GA1, GA8, GA20