2025 Hyper Recent •CC0 1.0 Universal

This work is dedicated to the public domain. No rights reserved.

Access Preprint From Server
July 2nd, 2025
Version: 1
CSIR - Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology
plant biology
biorxiv

Florigen Activation Complex Dynamics and SVP-Mediated Repression Orchestrate Temperature-Regulated Flowering in Saffron

Kalia, D.Open in Google Scholar•Jose-Santhi, J.Open in Google Scholar•Sheikh, F. R.Open in Google Scholar•Singh, R. K.Open in Google Scholar

Saffron, a high-value spice cultivated worldwide for its therapeutic and culinary uses, is a sterile triploid species, rendering conventional breeding approaches ineffective. This limitation underscores the need for molecular and biotechnological strategies for its genetic improvement. Flowering, a key determinant of saffron yield, is strongly influenced by temperature; however, the genetic regulatory networks underlying this process remain poorly understood. Our study identifies key regulators of saffron\'s flowering, focusing on the Florigen Activation Complex (FAC) components: FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT), bZIP transcription factor FD, and TERMINAL FLOWER-1 (TFL-1), and demonstrate their temperature-dependent roles in floral regulation. Spatiotemporal expression analyses suggested that CsatFT3 and CsatFD2, expressed in the floral meristem promote floral induction, while CsatTFL1-3 acts as a floral repressor. Protein interaction studies showed that CsatFT3 and CsatTFL1-3 compete for binding to CsatFD2, and their balance modulates floral induction. Functional validation in Arabidopsis and Saffron confirmed these findings. Furthermore, we identified CsatSVP2, an ortholog of SHORT VEGETATIVE PHASE (SVP), as a low temperature-responsive repressor that directly binds the CsatFT3 promoter to inhibit its expression. Together, these findings enhance our understanding of temperature mediated floral induction in saffron and provide insights and lay the groundwork for genetic interventions to enhance yield under variable temperature conditions.

Similar Papers

biorxiv
Thu Jul 03 2025
A compendium of nonredundant short Polymerase III promoters for CRISPR applications
Multiplex genome editing via CRISPR is a powerful tool for simultaneous knockout, activation, and/or repression of distinct genes. However, current toolkits for multiplex editing lack diversity. Polymerase III (Pol III) promoters are widely used to express guide RNAs (gRNAs). Repeated sequences, including promoters, in multiple expression cassettes complicate construct assembly and have long been ...
Deguchi, M.
•
Sinclair, K. M.
•
Patel, A.
•
Coile, M.
...•
Tsai, C.-J.
biorxiv
Thu Jul 03 2025
An ancient X chromosomal region harbours three genes potentially controlling sex determination in Cannabis sativa
The development of different sexes has fascinated humankind for millennia. In plants unisexual flowers evolved multiple times independently, yet the molecular mechanisms governing sex determination remain largely elusive. Here, we analysed sex determination in Cannabis sativa, one of the world\'s oldest and most versatile crops. C. sativa is primarily dioecious, with separate male and female indiv...
Toscani, M.
•
Riera-Begue, A.
•
Malik, A.
•
Dowling, C.
...•
Melzer, R.
biorxiv
Wed Jul 02 2025
Barley resistance and susceptibility to fungal cell entry involve the interplay of ROP signaling with phosphatidylinositol-monophosphates
Rho-of-plant small GTPases (ROPs) are regulators of plant polar growth and of plant-pathogen interactions. The barley ROP, RACB, is involved in susceptibility towards infection by the barley powdery mildew fungus Blumeria hordei (Bh) but little is known about the cellular pathways that connect RACB-signaling to disease susceptibility. Here we identify novel RACB interaction partners of plant or fu...
Weiss, L. S.
•
Bradai, M.
•
Bartram, C.
•
Heilmann, M.
...•
Huckelhoven, R.
biorxiv
Wed Jul 02 2025
ATG8i Autophagy activation is mediated by cytosolic Ca2+ under osmotic stress in Arabidopsis thaliana
Autophagy is a highly conserved catabolic process in eukaryotic cells that enables the degradation and recycling of damaged or unnecessary cytoplasmic components. It plays essential roles in both development and responses to environmental stress. In this study, we investigated the regulation of autophagy in response to osmotic stress, focusing on the dynamics of the RFP-tagged ATG8i protein and th...
Castillo-Olamendi, L.
•
Gutierrez-Martinez, J.
•
Jimenez-Nopala, G.
•
Galindo, A.
...•
Porta, H.
biorxiv
Wed Jul 02 2025
Homoeolog expression in polyploid wheat mutants shows limited transcriptional compensation
Active transcriptional compensation between gene duplicates (paralogs or homoeologs) has been proposed to facilitate functional redundancy, whereby mutations in multiple gene copies are required before a phenotype is observed. We tested whether transcriptional compensation occurs between homoeologs in response to premature termination codon (PTC) mutations in mutagenised wheat lines. Only ~3% of c...
Dorussen, D.
•
Knight, E.
•
Simmonds, J.
•
Borrill, P.
biorxiv
Wed Jul 02 2025
Cell-type-specific execution of effector-triggered immunity
Effector-triggered immunity (ETI) is a central component of host defense, but whether all cell types execute ETI similarly remains unknown. We combined chemically imposed immune activation with single-cell transcriptomics to profile ETI responses across all leaf cell types in Arabidopsis. Despite uniform ETI perception, we find striking divergence between transcriptional outputs: a core set of def...
Chhillar, H.
•
Jo, L.
•
Redkar, A.
•
Kajala, K.
...•
Ding, P.
biorxiv
Wed Jul 02 2025
Medicago truncatula CORYNE modulates inflorescence meristem branching, nutrient signaling, and arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis
The CLAVATA signaling pathway regulates plant development and plant-environment interactions. CLAVATA signaling consists of mobile, cell-type or environment-specific CLAVATA3/ESR-related (CLE) peptides, which are perceived by a receptor complex consisting of leucine-rich repeat receptor-like kinases such as CLAVATA1 and receptor-like proteins such as CLAVATA2, which often functions with the pseudo...
Orosz, J.
•
Lin, E. X.
•
Torres Ascurra, Y. C.
•
Kappes, M.
...•
Mueller, L. M.
biorxiv
Wed Jul 02 2025
The Fengshu Large Model for Wugu Fengdeng: An Innovation Engine for Knowledge Integration in the Soybean Field
Against the backdrop of global population growth and the continuous escalation of food demand, the acceleration of agricultural modernization has emerged as the core pathway to safeguard food security. As the world\'s fourth-largest food crop, soybean (Glycine max) possesses multiple strategic values for food security, livestock feed, and industrial raw materials, thanks to its high protein conten...
Wang, M.
•
Ling, J.
•
Qiao, P.
•
Yang, M.
...•
Chen, Q.
biorxiv
Wed Jul 02 2025
Root Water Uptake and Photosynthesis Synergistically Enhance Drought Tolerance in Interspecific Hybrid Sugarcane
Sugarcane (Saccharum spp. hybrids) is a globally important crop for food and bioenergy, but its production is increasingly threatened by drought driven by climate change. Drought causes complex interactions between root function and leaf photosynthesis, but their underlying mechanisms remain largely unstudied in sugarcane. To address this knowledge gap, we grew up to eight sugarcane cultivars in o...
Katsuhama, N.
•
Tamaru, S.
•
Yabuta, S.
•
Yamori, W.
•
Sakagami, J.-I.
biorxiv
Wed Jul 02 2025
Resolving the Foliar Calcium Mobility Paradox: Enhancing Foliar Calcium Transport in Tomato Using Osmotic Regulators
Calcium (Ca) deficiency can impair fruit development even under optimal soil Ca levels due to its transpiration-dependent transport. Reduced fruit transpiration may limit Ca delivery to fruits, leading to lower Ca content in the fruit and diminished quality. Foliar application of Ca offers a potential strategy to mitigate these effects; however, its low mobility in the phloem often limits treatmen...
Santos, E.
•
Montanha, G. S.
•
da Silva, H. J. F. A.
•
da Silva, N. G. d. C.
...•
Pereira De Carvalho, H. W.