Sucrose treatment alters floral induction and development in vitro in gloxinia

Previous studies have shown that Cucumber-FLO-LFY (CFL) overexpression significantly promotes early flowering without a gibberellin (GA3) supplement in gloxinia (Sinningia speciosa), suggesting that CFL can serve functionally as a LEAFY homolog. In the present study, different sucrose concentrations were applied to the culture medium to investigate the effects of sucrose on the development of excised flower buds and the regeneration of floral buds from sepals in wild-type and 35S::CFL gloxinia lines. The results showed that floral buds were formed directly from sepal explants without prior formation of shoots and leaves in 35S::CFL gloxinia lines when 2% w/v sucrose was added. Conversely, 0% or 5% w/v sucrose inhibited the generation of flower buds from sepals and the opening of flowers. Semi-quantitative PCR also showed that a medium with 5% w/v sucrose significantly inhibited MADS-box gene expression in wild type and much less significantly in 35S::CFL gloxinia. These data indicate that sucrose, as the main carbohydrate transported in floral organs, is a significant promoter of flower induction and maturity.