Biology subjects

Marcelis, L. F. M.

Publications and source records attributed to Marcelis, L. F. M..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2025

Fragaria ananassa DAM4 expression correlates with vegetative growth during endodormancy breaking

Dormancy-Associated MADS-BOX (DAM)3 and DAM4 have been described as potential regulators of winter dormancy in cultivated strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa Duch.). These genes are upregulated under short day conditions and downregulated under chilling conditions. The aim of the current work is to test the hypothesis that the expression of DAM3 and DAM4 correlates negatively with vegetative growth during dormancy induction and breaking. The expression of DAM3 and DAM4 as well as plant morphology and physiology were analyzed during a period of semi-dormancy induction and breaking. Furthermore, DAM3 and DAM4 expression was compared between cultivars with different chill requirements. Lastly, the DAM1, DAM2, DAM3, and DAM4 expression of concurrently growing summer and winter leaves was compared at multiple stages of dormancy-breaking. DAM3 and DAM4 expression negatively correlated with leaf area and petiole length. We conclude that DAM3 and DAM4 expression patterns are consistent with that of regulators of semi-dormancy. DAM4 expression in particular correlates strongly with vegetative growth during semi-dormancy breaking. DAM3 or DAM4 expression were not found to correlate with the cultivar-specific chill requirements. Lastly, no relevant differences in DAM expression were found between summer and winter leaves.

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2025

Photoperiodic effects on early plant development in everbearing and seasonal flowering strawberry

In recent years, interest in vertical farming systems for strawberry cultivation has increased. Because of the increased costs associated with these systems, optimal use of resources, such as cultivation space and light, is a requirement. This necessitates a detailed understanding of plant development in different light conditions. The aim of this experiment was to analyze the effect of photoperiod on the early development of seasonal flowering and everbearing strawberry plants, and to compare the expression of genes known or suspected to be involved in the regulation of plant development between the two flowering types. Young, runner-propagated seasonal flowering and everbearing strawberry plants were grown under 10, 12, 14, or 16 h photoperiod in a climate-controlled vertical farm. Runners and flowers were removed throughout the experiment to limit their effects on assimilate balance. Morphological and physiological measurements were made weekly. Leaf material was collected for gene expression analysis. There were not many differences in plant growth and development between the short day conditions (10 and 12 h photoperiods), or long day conditions (14 and 16 h photoperiods). Short day conditions had a repressive effect on vegetative growth in all cultivars, but this effect was reduced in everbearing cultivars compared to seasonal flowering cultivars. No notable differences were found in gene expression between the two flowering types.

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2024

FaDAM3 and FaDAM4 are candidate genes for the regulation of seasonal dimorphism in cultivated strawberry

Cultivated strawberry (Fragaria ananassa) exhibits seasonal dimorphism between the summer and winter seasons. Under the influence of short day conditions, the winter morphology is induced, which includes shorter petioles, smaller and thicker leaves with higher concentrations of chlorophyll and higher density of trichomes. In peach (Prunus persica) the Dormancy-Associated MADS-box (DAM) gene family is involved in the regulation of winter dormancy, which closely resembles strawberry seasonal dimorphism in terms of timing and environmental regulation. In strawberry, six genes exist with close homology to the peach DAM genes. We analyzed the amino acid and coding sequences of these genes, and designated them FaDAM1-4 and FaSVP1-2. We found that there are three pairs of highly similar paralogs within the strawberry genome that exhibit similar expression patterns, although expression levels vary. FaDAM3 and FaDAM4 exhibit expression patterns that are consistent with seasonal dimorphism. We conclude that FaDAM3 and FaDAM4 are candidate genes for the regulation of seasonal dimorphism in strawberry.

plant biology↗