PhD defence

Finetuning flowering: roles and regulation of tomato SOC1 and FUL homologs

PhD candidate IE (Iris) Zahn MSc
Promotor prof.dr.ir. GC (Gerco) Angenent
Co-promotor dr. M (Marian) Bemer
Organisation Wageningen University, Laboratory of Molecular Biology
Date

Wed 12 June 2024 13:30 to 15:00

Venue Omnia, building number 105
Hoge Steeg 2
105
6708 PH Wageningen
+31 (0) 317 - 484500
Room Auditorium

Summary

To bloom or not to bloom – that is the question. When a plant exactly starts flowering and how the inflorescences develop is of paramount importance to plants. Flowering determines their reproductive success and this is also relevant to agriculture, because flowers give rise to fruits and seeds for consumption. The genes SUPPRESSOR OF OVEREXPRESSION OF CONSTANS 1 (SOC1) and FRUITFULL (FUL) are important regulators of flowering in several plant species, but we know little about their functions in the agriculturally important crop tomato (Solanum lycopersicum). This thesis describes novel insights into the specific and shared functions of SOC1- and FUL-like genes during flowering in tomato, and the characterisation of two genomic regions that partly determine when, where and how strong these genes are active. These findings contribute to a fundamental understanding of flowering regulation and have applications in plant breeding to finetune flowering.