Data from: Analysis of the PEBP gene family and identification of a novel FLOWERING LOCUS T orthologue in sugarcane

Sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) is an important economic crop for both sugar
and biomass, the yields of which are negatively affected by flowering. The
molecular mechanisms controlling flowering in sugarcane are nevertheless
poorly understood. RNA-seq data analysis and database searches have
enabled a comprehensive description of the PEBP gene family in sugarcane.
It is shown to consist of at least 13 FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT)-like genes,
two MOTHER OF FT AND TFL (MFT)-like genes, and four TERMINAL FLOWER
(TFL)-like genes. As expected, these genes all show very high homology to
their corresponding genes in Sorghum, and also to FT-like, MFT-like, and
TFL-like genes in maize, rice, and Arabidopsis. Functional analysis in
Arabidopsis showed that the sugarcane ScFT3 gene can rescue the late
flowering phenotype of the Arabidopsis ft-10 mutant, whereas ScFT5 cannot.
High expression levels of ScFT3 in leaves of short day-induced sugarcane
plants coincided with initial stages of floral induction in the shoot
apical meristem as shown by histological analysis of meristem dissections.
This suggests that ScFT3 is likely to play a role in floral induction in
sugarcane; however, other sugarcane FT-like genes may also be involved in
the flowering process.