CiTFL1 and CiWUS Expression Provides Clues to the Mechanism of Flower Number Regulation in the Lateral Cincinni of Canna indica, a Zingiberales Species with Variable Inflorescence Architecture
2022
Zhao, Tong | Zhao, Haichan | Yu, Qianxia | Tian, Xueyi | Lin, Canjia | Liao, Jingping
Flowers of Canna indica (Cannaceae) are arranged in 1- or 2-flowered cincinni along the inflorescence branches. Compared with the compound branches bearing 2-flowered cincinni, the more frequent 1-flowered type have simpler structures during anthesis. The lateral cincinnus meristem (CM) has been traditionally described as terminating at the second floral meristem (FM2), which may cease development later. In this research, however, we found that the CM could produce more floral structures after FM2. When the CM was separating from FM1, the phase transition regulator CiTFL1 was expressed more evidently in the CM than in the latter. The constant expression of CiTFL1 also supports the continuous existence rather than intermittent renewal of the CM. While CiWUS, which is thought to function in maintaining the meristem, had relatively low expression levels in the secondary CM and the subsequent FM2, probably indicating the future abortion of this flower. These results suggest that CiTFL1 and CiWUS may participate in controlling the flower number of the cincinnus through regulating identity transformation and maintenance of the meristems, respectively, thus affecting the inflorescence architecture.
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