The MADS-domain transcription factor DAL10 is a direct target of putative DAL1-mediated age pathway in conifers.

The optimal timing of the transition from vegetative growth to reproductive growth is critical for plant reproductive success, and the underlying regulatory mechanisms have been well studied in angiosperm model species, but relatively little in gymnosperms. DAL1, a MADS domain transcription factor (TF) that shows a conserved age-related expression profile in conifers, may be an age timer. However, how DAL1 mediates the onset of reproductive growth remains poorly understood.

An ethylene-induced NAC transcription factor acts as a multiple abiotic stress responsor in conifer.

The proper response to various abiotic stresses is essential for plants' survival to overcome their sessile nature, especially for perennial trees with very long-life cycles. However, in conifers, the molecular mechanisms that coordinate multiple abiotic stress responses remain elusive. Here, the transcriptome response to various abiotic stresses like salt, cold, drought, heat shock and osmotic were systematically detected in () seedlings.

The methylation landscape of giga-genome and the epigenetic timer of age in Chinese pine.

Epigenetics has been revealed to play a crucial role in the long-term memory in plants. However, little is known about whether the epigenetic modifications occur with age progressively in conifers. Here, we present the single-base resolution DNA methylation landscapes of the 25-gigabase Chinese pine (Pinus tabuliformis) genome at different ages.

The long road to bloom in conifers.

More than 600 species of conifers (phylum Pinophyta) serve as the backbone of the Earth's terrestrial plant community and play key roles in global carbon and water cycles. Although coniferous forests account for a large fraction of global wood production, their productivity relies largely on the use of genetically improved seeds. However, acquisition of such seeds requires recurrent selection and testing of genetically superior parent trees, eventually followed by the establishment of a seed orchard to produce the improved seeds.

Comparative transcriptome analyses reveal two distinct transcriptional modules associated with pollen shedding time in pine.

Background: Seasonal flowering time is an ecologically and economically important trait in temperate trees. Previous studies have shown that temperature in many tree species plays a pivotal role in regulating flowering time. However, genetic control of flowering time is not synchronised in different individual trees under comparable temperature conditions, the underlying molecular mechanism is mainly to be investigated.

Gibberellin Signaling Is Required for Far-Red Light-Induced Shoot Elongation in Seedlings.

Gibberellin (GA) is known to play an important role in low red/far-red (R:FR) light ratio-mediated hypocotyl and petiole elongation in Arabidopsis (). However, the regulatory relationship between low R:FR and GAs remains unclear, especially in gymnosperms. To increase our understanding of the molecular basis of low R:FR-mediated shoot elongation in pines and to determine whether there is an association between low R:FR and GAs action, we explored the morphological and transcriptomic changes triggered by low R:FR, GAs, and paclobutrazol (PAC), a GAs biosynthesis inhibitor, in seedlings.

The transcriptional activity of a temperature-sensitive transcription factor module is associated with pollen shedding time in pine.

It has long been known that the pollen shedding time in pine trees is correlated with temperature, but the molecular basis for this has remained largely unknown. To better understand the mechanisms driving temperature response and to identify the hub regulators of pollen shedding time regulation in Pinus tabuliformis Carr., we identified a set of temperature-sensitive genes by carrying out a comparative transcriptome analysis using six early pollen shedding trees (EPs) and six late pollen shedding trees (LPs) during mid-winter and at three consecutive time points in early spring.