Is a chromatin thermostat model applicable to the thermosensory response in thermogenic skunk cabbage?

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26850065
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Applied biochemistry
• Research Institution: University of Miyazaki
• Principal Investigator: Inaba Yasuko 宮崎大学, テニュアトラック推進機構, 助教 (80400191)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: 植物 / 遺伝子 / 発現制御 / 呼吸 / ミトコンドリア / 発熱 / 温度受容

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Floral thermogenesis has been found in dozens of primitive seed plants and the reproductive organs in these plants produce heat during anthesis. In this study, extensive database searches and cloning experiments suggest that thermogenic skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus renifolius), which is a member of the family Araceae, possesses two genes encoding phosphatidyl ethanolamine-binding proteins (PEBP), FLOWERING LOCUS T (SrFT) and MOTHER OF FT AND TFL1 (SrMFT). Functional analyses of SrFT and SrMFT in Arabidopsis indicate that SrFT promotes flowering, whereas SrMFT does not. Microarray analysis revealed that, within floral tissues, SrFT was co-regulated with the genes associated with cellular respiration and mitochondrial function, including ALTERNATIVE OXIDASE gene proposed to play a major role in floral thermogenesis. Taken together, these data suggest that, among the PEBP genes, SrFT plays a role in flowering and floral development in the thermogenic skunk cabbage.

Free Research Field

植物生化学