Iraninan Biology Society Journal of Cellular and Molecular Research (Iranian Journal of Biology) 2383-2738 38 4 2025 12 22 Overexpression of mustard flowering time gene (TFL1) retards the transition from the vegetative to reproductive phase in transgenic Arabidopsis plants Overexpression of mustard flowering time gene (TFL1) retards the transition from the vegetative to reproductive phase in transgenic Arabidopsis plants 327 344 2366 10.22034/cmr.2024.8266.3176 FA Mohsen Asadi Iran, Kerman, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Faculty of Science, Department of Biology Iran, Tehran, Technical and Vocational University (TVU), Department of Agricultural Science 0000-0002-1818-339X Zahra Mohammadi Iran, Kerman, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Faculty of Science, Department of Biology 0000-0001-8797-2184 Farkhondeh Rezanejad Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman 0000-0003-3825-0913 Journal Article 2023 10 18 The precise regulation of flowering time is critical to optimize agricultural production since it directly affects the quality and quantity of leaf, flower, seed and fruit yields, as well as the ease of harvesting and marketing. Mustard is known as an important oilseed worldwide, and the timing of flowering and plant architecture play a direct role in increasing its yield. The TERMINAL FLOWER 1 gene is one of the key genes involved in the flowering process and determining the shoot form in plants. In the present study, this gene was cloned from mustard, and its function was analyzed using transgenic Arabidopsis experiments. For functional analysis, the overexpression construct was designed using Gateway cloning and Transgenic Arabidopsis plants were generated by the floral dip method. Overexpression of the coding region in the wild-type Arabidopsis (Col-0) induced a delay in flowering time, with a simultaneous increase in rosette leaf numbers, compared to control plants; however, the number of cauline leaves remained relatively similar between the transgenic and the control groups. The qRT-PCR results showed the transformed gene is expressed in transgenic Arabidopsis, while its mRNA was not detected in control plants. The results demonstrate that the analyzed gene might function as a floral repressor in mustard and could be used as an important target for genetic improvement. The precise regulation of flowering time is critical to optimize agricultural production since it directly affects the quality and quantity of leaf, flower, seed and fruit yields, as well as the ease of harvesting and marketing. Mustard is known as an important oilseed worldwide, and the timing of flowering and plant architecture play a direct role in increasing its yield. The TERMINAL FLOWER 1 gene is one of the key genes involved in the flowering process and determining the shoot form in plants. In the present study, this gene was cloned from mustard, and its function was analyzed using transgenic Arabidopsis experiments. For functional analysis, the overexpression construct was designed using Gateway cloning and Transgenic Arabidopsis plants were generated by the floral dip method. Overexpression of the coding region in the wild-type Arabidopsis (Col-0) induced a delay in flowering time, with a simultaneous increase in rosette leaf numbers, compared to control plants; however, the number of cauline leaves remained relatively similar between the transgenic and the control groups. The qRT-PCR results showed the transformed gene is expressed in transgenic Arabidopsis, while its mRNA was not detected in control plants. The results demonstrate that the analyzed gene might function as a floral repressor in mustard and could be used as an important target for genetic improvement. https://cell.ijbio.ir/article_2366_d3b1fb02964aa64e257f9f26a31f72cf.pdf