Citrus trees are evergreen but sometimes defoliate when exposed to excess winter cold, salty wind injury, or serious drought. Defoliation often decreases flower number in the following spring. To understand the underlying molecular mechanism, we investigated the effect of defoliation on a floweringrelated gene, citrus FLOWERING LOCUS T (CiFT). To determine the effect of defoliation period on CiFT expression, potted satsuma mandarin trees (Citrus unshiu Marc.) were completely defoliated at different time while growing at 15℃, the floral-inductive temperature. After 2.5 months at 15℃, CiFT expression was higher in the stems of trees that retained their leaves for longer periods. These results indicated that early defoliation suppressed CiFT expression in the stem. To determine how leaf number affected CiFT expression, potted trees were defoliated to different degrees and grown at 15℃ for one month. CiFT expression in the stem was strongly and positively correlated with leaf number, indicating that a decrease in leaf number suppressed CiFT expression in the stem. In both experiments, floral induction at the end of 15℃ treatment was estimated by forcing the trees to sprout at 25℃. Floral induction was suppressed by early or extensive defoliation, corresponding with the changes in CiFT expression.
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ウンシュウミカンにおいて摘葉はカンキツFLOWERING LOCUSTの発現を抑制する
nifs_report_No15p1-6p.pdf
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