O-GlcNAc and phosphorylation modifications on HtL1/FBA10 regulate wheat vernalization for flowering

作者：Pengfang Yang, Y T Liu, Qi Dong, Yuting Miao, J. Zhang, Shujuan Xu, Hong Zhao, Y D Niu, Xueyong Zhang, Yunyuan Xu, Zifeng Guo, Lijing Xing, Kang Chong · 发表于：Nature Communications · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1038/s41467-025-67734-0 · 被引用次数：3 · 研究领域：Wheat and Barley Genetics and Pathology、Plant Molecular Biology Research、Plant nutrient uptake and metabolism

Vernalization-regulated flowering is vital for wheat yield and geographical distribution, and the diversity of flowering time genes is essential for the breeding of climate-resilient varieties. Sugars have long been recognized in regulating flowering; however, the intrinsic connection between carbohydrate metabolism and vernalization response remains largely unexplored. Here, we identify a fructose 1,6-bisphosphate aldolase (FBA) encoding gene, HtL1/FBA10, as a modulator of heading time variation based on a genome-wide association study utilizing wheat core germplasm collections. Evolutionary analysis shows a decrease in the proportion of haplotype-2 of HtL1, which is linked to delayed flowering, in Chinese and American wheat varieties compared to landraces. Vernalization reduces HtL1/FBA10 phosphorylation levels and increases its O-GlcNAcylation, which in turn enhances its enzymatic activity and facilitates VERNALIZATION 1 (VRN1) transcription by regulating histone acetylation at the VRN1 locus. Our findings provide mechanistic insights into the interplay between glucose metabolism and the epigenetic regulation of vernalization in winter wheat.