Itamar Gafni

Mr. Itamar Gafni


Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

5Years (2022-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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15 September 2022 in Plants
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
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IGItamar Gafni
Itamar Gafni
Avinash Chandra RaiAvinash Chandra Rai
Avinash Chandra Rai
EHEyal Halon
Eyal Halon
TZTali Zviran
Tali Zviran
ISIsaac Sisai
Isaac Sisai
VIVered Irihimovitch
Vered Irihimovitch
Plant flowering is antagonistically modulated by similar FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) and TERMINAL FLOWER 1 (TFL1) proteins. In mango (Mangifera indica L.), flowering is induced by cold temperatures, unless the tree is juvenile or the adult tree had a high fruit load (HFL) in the summer. Here, we studied the effects of juvenility and fruit load on the expression of four MiFT/TFL1 genes cloned from the mango ‘Shelly’ cultivar. Ectopic expression of MiFT1 in Arabidopsis resulted in early flowering, whereas over-expression of MiFT2 and the two cloned MiTFL1 genes repressed flowering. Moreover, juvenility was positively correlated with higher transcript levels of MiFT2 and both MiTFL1s. In trees with a low fruit load, leaf MiFT1 expression increased in winter, whereas HFL delayed its upregulation. MiFT2 expression was upregulated in both leaves and buds under both fruit load conditions. Downregulation of both MITFL1s in buds was associated with a decrease in regional temperatures under both conditions; nevertheless, HFL delayed the decrease in their accumulation. Our results suggest that cold temperature has opposite effects on the expression of MiFT1 and the MiTFL1s, thereby inducing flowering, whereas HFL represses flowering by both suppressing MiFT1 upregulation and delaying MiTFL1s downregulation. The apparent flowering-inhibitory functions of MiFT2 are discussed.