Study on a network of genes related to flowering and growth habit and its responses to environments in soybean

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Soybean is cultivated across a wide range of latitudes. Its wide adaptability is supported by a genetic diversity in the control of flowering. The purposes of this project were to reveal the genetic diversity at four flowering loci, E1 to E4 and to determine the genetic network of flowering genes and the responses to environments. There were three mechanisms in the control of photoperiod-insensitivity; dysfunction of phytochrome A genes, E3 and E4, dysfunction of E1, a possible transcriptional factor for FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) orthologs, and an involvement of a novel gene(s). Two homologs of E1 inhibited flowering via down-regulation of FT, as in E1. Further, a light signal in a specific period of day induced the gene expression of E1 under the control of E3 and E4 to inhibit the induction of FT expressions, which consequently inhibited the floral induction. A pathway independent of FT may also be involved in the induction of flowering in soybean.