Background: Phalaenopsis is an important ornamental flowering plant that belongs to the Orchidaceae family
and is cultivated worldwide.
Phalaenopsis has a long juvenile phase; therefore, it is important to understand
the genetic elements regulating the transition from vegetative phase to reproductive phase. In this study,
FLOWERING LOCUS T (
FT) homologs in
Phalaenopsis were cloned, and their effects on flowering were
analyzed.
Results: A total of five
FT-like genes were identified in
Phalaenopsis. Phylogenetic and expression analyses of
these five
FT-like genes indicated that some of these genes might participate in the regulation of flowering.
A novel
FT-like gene,
PhFT-1, distantly related to previously reported
FT genes in
Arabidopsis
and other dicot
crops, was also found to be a positive regulator of flowering as heterologous expression of
PhFT-1 in
Arabidopsis causes an early flowering phenotype.
Conclusions: Five
FT homologous genes from
Phalaenopsis orchid were identified, and
PhFT-1 positively
regulates flowering.
