Seed dormancy is an adaptive mechanism and an important agronomic trait. Temperature during seed development strongly affects seed dormancy in wheat (Triticum aestivum) with lower temperatures producing higher levels of seed dormancy. To identify genes important for seed dormancy, we used a wheat microarray to analyze gene expression in embryos from mature seeds grown at lower and higher temperatures. We found that a wheat homolog of MOTHER OF FT AND TFL1 (MFT) was upregulated after physiological maturity in dormant seeds grown at the lower temperature. In situ hybridization analysis indicated that MFT was exclusively expressed in the scutellum and coleorhiza. Mapping analysis showed that MFT on chromosome 3A (MFT-3A) colocalized with the seed dormancy quantitative trait locus (QTL) QPhs.ocs-3A.1. MFT-3A expression levels in a dormant cultivar used for the detection of the QTL were higher after physiological maturity; this increased expression correlated with a single nucleotide polymorphism in the promoter region. In a complementation analysis, high levels of MFT expression were correlated with a low germination index in T1 seeds. Furthermore, precocious germination of isolated immature embryos was suppressed by transient introduction of MFT driven by the maize (Zea mays) ubiquitin promoter. Taken together, these results suggest that MFT plays an important role in the regulation of germination in wheat.

To elucidate the genetic mechanism of flowering in wheat, we performed expression, mutant and transgenic studies of flowering-time genes. A diurnal expression analysis revealed that a flowering activator VRN1, an APETALA1/FRUITFULL homolog in wheat, was expressed in a rhythmic manner in leaves under both long-day (LD) and short-day (SD) conditions. Under LD conditions, the upregulation of VRN1 during the light period was followed by the accumulation of FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) transcripts. Furthermore, FT was not expressed in a maintained vegetative phase (mvp) mutant of einkorn wheat (Triticum monococcum), which has null alleles of VRN1, and never transits from the vegetative to the reproductive phase. These results suggest that VRN1 is upstream of FT and upregulates the FT expression under LD conditions. The overexpression of FT in a transgenic bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) caused extremely early heading with the upregulation of VRN1 and the downregulation of VRN2, a putative repressor gene of VRN1. These results suggest that in the transgenic plant, FT suppresses VRN2 expression, leading to an increase in VRN1 expression. Based on these results, we present a model for a genetic network of flowering-time genes in wheat leaves, in which VRN1 is upstream of FT with a positive feedback loop through VRN2. The mvp mutant has a null allele of VRN2, as well as of VRN1, because it was obtained from a spring einkorn wheat strain lacking VRN2. The fact that FT is not expressed in the mvp mutant supports the present model.

Seed germination under the appropriate environmental conditions is important both for plant species survival and for successful agriculture. Seed dormancy, which controls germination time, is one of the adaptation mechanisms and domestication traits [1]. Seed dormancy is generally defined as the absence of germination of a viable seed under conditions that are favorable for germination [2]. The seed dormancy of cultivated plants has generally been reduced during domestication [3]. Bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is one of the most widely grown crops in the world. Weak dormancy may be an advantage for the productivity due to uniform emergence and a disadvantage for the risks of pre-harvest sprouting (PHS), which decreases grain quality and yield [4]. A number of quantitative trait loci (QTLs) controlling natural variation of seed dormancy have been identified on various chromosomes [5]. A major QTL for seed dormancy has been consistently detected on chromosome 4A [6-13]. The QTL was designated as a major gene, Phs1, which could be precisely mapped within a 2.6 cM region [14]. Here, we identified a mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 3 (MKK3) gene (designated TaMKK3-A) by a map-based approach as a candidate gene for the seed dormancy locus Phs1 on chromosome 4A in bread wheat. Complementation analysis showed that transformation of a dormant wheat cultivar with the TaMKK3-A allele from a nondormant cultivar clearly reduced seed dormancy. Cultivars differing in dormancy had a single nonsynonymous amino acid substitution in the kinase domain of the predicted MKK3 protein sequence, which may be associated with the length of seed dormancy.

Floret fertility is a key determinant of the number of grains per inflorescence in cereals. During the evolution of wheat (Triticum sp.), floret fertility has increased, such that current bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) cultivars set three to five grains per spikelet. However, little is known regarding the genetic basis of floret fertility. The locus Grain Number Increase 1 (GNI1) is shown here to be an important contributor to floret fertility. GNI1 evolved in the Triticeae through gene duplication. The gene, which encodes a homeodomain leucine zipper class I (HD-Zip I) transcription factor, was expressed most abundantly in the most apical floret primordia and in parts of the rachilla, suggesting that it acts to inhibit rachilla growth and development. The level of GNI1 expression has decreased over the course of wheat evolution under domestication, leading to the production of spikes bearing more fertile florets and setting more grains per spikelet. Genetic analysis has revealed that the reduced-function allele GNI-A1 contributes to the increased number of fertile florets per spikelet. The RNAi-based knockdown of GNI1 led to an increase in the number of both fertile florets and grains in hexaploid wheat. Mutants carrying an impaired GNI-A1 allele out-yielded WT allele carriers under field conditions. The data show that gene duplication generated evolutionary novelty affecting floret fertility while mutations favoring increased grain production have been under selection during wheat evolution under domestication.