中国科学院分子植物科学卓越创新中心王佳伟团队揭示了十字花科一年生和多年生多花植物开花行为的相互转换。该项研究成果发表在2024年5月28日出版的《细胞》上。

研究人员以两个十字花科物种（喜马拉雅须弥芥Crucihimalaya himalaica与内华达糖芥Erysimum nevadense）为多年生多次结实模型，揭示了从多年生多次结实到二年生和一年生开花行为的过渡是一个连续的过程，由三个密切相关的MADS-box基因的剂量决定。这些基因的表达模式、功能强度和组合的多样化赋予了物种采取各种生活史策略的潜力。

值得注意的是，研究人员发现这三个基因中的一个基因就足以将冬性或一年生十字花科植物转化为多次结实多年生开花植物。我们的研究为植物不同生活史策略的进化奠定了遗传基础，并为未来多种多年生十字花科作物的产生奠定了基础。

据介绍，发展多年生作物为可持续农业和粮食安全带来了巨大希望。然而，人们对多年生与一年生之间的过渡演化知之甚少。

附：英文原文

Title: Reciprocal conversion between annual and polycarpic perennial flowering behavior in the Brassicaceae

Author: Dong Zhai, Lu-Yi Zhang, Ling-Zi Li, Zhou-Geng Xu, Xiao-Li Liu, Guan-Dong Shang, Bo Zhao, Jian Gao, Fu-Xiang Wang, Jia-Wei Wang

Issue&Volume: 2024-05-28

Abstract: The development of perennial crops holds great promise for sustainable agriculture and food security. However, the evolution of the transition between perenniality and annuality is poorly understood. Here, using two Brassicaceae species, Crucihimalaya himalaica and Erysimum nevadense, as polycarpic perennial models, we reveal that the transition from polycarpic perennial to biennial and annual flowering behavior is a continuum determined by the dosage of three closely related MADS-box genes. Diversification of the expression patterns, functional strengths, and combinations of these genes endows species with the potential to adopt various life-history strategies. Remarkably, we find that a single gene among these three is sufficient to convert winter-annual or annual Brassicaceae plants into polycarpic perennial flowering plants. Our work delineates a genetic basis for the evolution of diverse life-history strategies in plants and lays the groundwork for the generation of diverse perennial Brassicaceae crops in the future.

DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2024.04.047

Source: https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(24)00473-2