Involvement of allelic-interaction-mediated gene regulation in cold-tolerance: elucidation of the mechanism

分析了龙胆W14/15基因变异在耐寒性中的作用及调控。鉴定出增加耐寒性（W15a型）和抑制耐寒性（W14b型）的变异类型。在携带W14b/W15a基因型的龙胆植物中，W14a等位基因抑制了另一个W15a等位基因，导致耐受性降低。这似乎是由于每个等位基因之间染色质结构的改变在时间上不同所引起的。研究结果为龙胆耐寒基因调控提供了一种新的途径，可用于龙胆品种的选育策略。

Function and regulation of the gentian W14/15 gene variants in cold-tolerance were analyzed. The variant types that increase (W15a type) and repress the cold-tolerance (W14b type) were identified. In gentian plants carrying W14b/W15a genotype, the W14a allele inhibited the other W15a allele, leading to the lowered tolerance. This seemed to be caused by temporally different alteration of chromatin structure between each allele. The results present a new type of gene regulation in cold-tolerance, which can be applied for breeding strategy in gentian cultivars.