Volume: 3, 2024
3rd International PhD Student’s Conference at the University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Poland:
ENVIRONMENT – PLANT – ANIMAL – PRODUCT
Abstract number: P021
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24326/ICDSUPL3.P021
Published online: 24 April 2024
ICDSUPL, 3, P021 (2024)
Allelic variation analysis of the BvBTC1 gene regulating flowering in sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L. subsp. vulgaris) plants
Karolina Różaniecka1*, Michał Nowak1, Tomasz Ociepa1, Adam Sitarski2, Justyna Leśniowska-Nowak1, Kamila Kozak-Fiałkowska2, Krzysztof Kowalczyk1
1 Institute of Plant Genetics, Breeding and Biotechnology, Faculty of Agrobioengineering, University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Akademicka 15, 20-950 Lublin, Poland
2 Kutnowska Hodowla Buraka Cukrowego Sp. z o.o., Straszkow 12, 62-650 Klodawa, Poland
* Corresponding author: karolina.rozaniecka@up.lublin.pl
Abstract
Sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L. ssp. vulgaris) is a root crop that is the world’s second crop used for sugar production. The world’s sugar beet acreage is currently about 4.8 million hectares, and global production is around 275 million tons. It is a biennial plant, which forms a leaf rosette and roots in the first year of vegetation, while in the second year, after undergoing the vernalization process, flowering is induced, and seeds are produced. In agricultural practice, sugar beet is grown as an annual plant, where the seeds are sown in the spring and the roots are harvested in the fall. In the case of biennial forms of beet, two factors regulate the induction of flowering: day length – the occurrence of a long day; vernalization – period of low temperature. Studies have shown that the requirement of sugar beet for vernalization is determined at the genetic level by the BOLTING TIME CONTROL 1 (BvBTC1) gene, located at the B locus, which regulates the expression of two genes: BvFT1 and BvFT2. The active protein encoded by BvBTC1 gene causes repression of BvFT1 gene function, which leads to activation of the flowering activator gene BvFT2. The presence of a dominant allele of the BvBTC1 gene results in a lack of need for vernalization and an annual developmental type. The recessive form of Bvbtc1 most likely requires accumulation of the functional product of gene expression to become active, which happens as a result of the vernalization process. Therefore, the presence of the recessive allele determines the biennial developmental type. The genetic variation at loci responsible for regulating flowering in sugar beet plants has not been comprehensively characterized yet. The results of previous studies indicate that the primary source of variation is the presence of insertions in the promoter region and SNPs within the coding sequences of the BvBTC1 gene, while the sequences of the other genes: BvFT1, BvFT2 and BvBBX19 do not show much variation between forms with different phenotypes in terms of flowering time. Moreover, so far, genetic studies on flowering induction and the issue of bolting in beet are limited to structural analyses. The aim of this study was to identify the molecular determinants of bolting tendency and potential genetic sources of resistance to the occurrence of this phenomenon in the sugar beet genome. As a result of the analyses, the new structural variations associated with the regulation of flowering in sugar beet were identified.
Keywords: sugar beet, BvBTC1 gene, genetic variation, flowering regulation
How to cite
K. Różaniecka, M. Nowak, T. Ociepa, A. Sitarski, J. Leśniowska-Nowak, K. Kozak-Fiałkowska, K. Kowalczyk, 2024. Allelic variation analysis of the BvBTC1 gene regulating flowering in sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L. subsp. vulgaris) plants. In: 3rd International PhD Student’s Conference at the University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Poland: Environment – Plant – Animal – Product. https://doi.org/10.24326/ICDSUPL3.P021