ON THE GENETICS OF THE ‘BUD-FLOWERING’ TRAIT IN THE ORNAMENTAL CROP CALLUNA VULGARIS

The ornamental crop Calluna vulgaris is of increasing importance to the horticultural industry due to a flower organ mutation, the so-called ‘bud-flowering’ phenotype, in which buds remain closed throughout the total flowering period and thereby maintain more colourful flowers for a longer period of time than the wild-type.
Moreover, stamens are missing.
In order to clarify the genetics of this mutation a comparative study of the wild-type and the ‘bud-flowering’ flower type of C. vulgaris was initiated.
Scanning electron microscopic analyses of flower organs as well as gene expression studies of an AP3-like and a SEP1-like gene in the different flower whorls of both flower types allowed identification of bracts, sepals and petals.
However, loss of stamens in the ‘bud-flowering’ phenotype could not be explained by modified spatial expression of known organ identity genes.
Therefore, new approaches (map-based cloning and differential transcriptome analysis) are now envisioned in order to elucidate the genetics of the ‘bud-flowering’ phenotype.

XXVIII International Horticultural Congress on Science and Horticulture for People (IHC2010): International Symposium on Genomics and Genetic Transformation of Horticultural Crops

T. Borchert, A. Behrend , A. Hohe

APETALA3, Ericaceae, floral organ identity, MADS-box genes, SEPALLATA1

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2012.929.15