Expression of Flower Promoting Genes in Sweet Orange during Floral Inductive Water Deficits

Abstract

Cool ambient temperatures (5 to 20 °C) and water deficit are the only factors known to induce flowering in sweet orange (Citrus sinensis). Whereas the effects of cool ambient temperatures on flowering have been described extensively, reports on the mechanisms underlying floral induction by water deficit in sweet orange (and other tropical and subtropical species) are scarce. We report changes in the accumulation of transcripts of four flower-promoting genes, CsFT, CsSL1, CsAP1, and CsLFY, in sweet orange trees in response to water deficit or a combination of water deficit and cool temperatures under controlled conditions. Exposure to water deficit increased the accumulation of CsFT transcripts, whereas transcripts of CsSL1, CsAP1, and CsLFY were reduced. However, when water deficit was interrupted by irrigation, accumulation of CsFT transcripts returned rapidly to pre-treatment levels and accumulation of CsSL1, CsAP1, and CsLFY increased. The accumulation of CsFT transcripts in trees during the combined water deficit and cool temperatures treatment was higher than in trees exposed to either factor separately, and accumulation of CsAP1 and CsLFY transcripts after the combined treatment was also higher. These results suggest that water deficit induces flowering through the upregulation of CsFT and that CsFT is the leaf integrator of flower-inducing signals generated by the exposure to water deficit and cool temperatures in sweet orange.