Overexpression of the GmGAL2 Gene Accelerates Flowering in Arabidopsis

A soybean MADS box gene Gm GAL2 ( Glycine max AGAMOUS Like 2 ), a homolog of AGL11 / STK , was investigated in transgenic Arabidopsis lines. Ectopic expression of Gm GAL2 in Arabidopsis enhanced flowering, under both long-day and short-day conditions, by promoting expression of key flowering genes, CONSTANS ( CO ) and FLOWERING LOCUS T ( FT ), and lowering expression of floral inhibiter FLOWERING LOCUS C ( FLC ). Moreover, frequency of silique pod set was also lower in transgenic compared to control Arabidopsis plants. RT-PCR results revealed that Gm GAL2 was primarily expressed in the flowers and pods of soybean plants, Gm GAL2 expressed higher in SD than LD in soybean.