Regulation by Vrn-1/Fr-1 chromosomal intervals of CBF-mediated Cor/Lea gene expression and freezing tolerance in common wheat

Vrn-1/Fr-1 chromosomal regions of common wheat possess major QTLs for both winter hardiness (Fr) and vernalization requirement (Vrn). The Vrn-1/Fr-1 intervals are assigned to long arms of the homoeologous group 5 chromosomes. To investigate the role of the Vrn-1/Fr-1 intervals on the low-temperature (LT) inducibility of wheat Cor/Lea genes and its putative transcription factor gene Wcbf2, LT response of these genes was monitored using near-isogenic lines (NILs) for the Vrn-1 loci. The Wcbf2 transcript accumulated rapidly after LT treatment and remained at a high level in lines without any dominant Vrn-1 alleles. By contrast, the Wcbf2 transcript level was greatly reduced in lines carrying the Vrn-1 alleles. The Vrn-1 NILs accumulated much lower amounts of Cor/Lea transcripts and COR/LEA proteins than the non-carrier line. The observed patterns and levels of gene expression, particularly in the Vrn-A1 NIL, agreed with the higher sensitivity to freezing damage in this line than in the non-carrier line. Up-regulation of the expression of the WAP1 gene, a candidate of the Vrn-1 loci, was much delayed in the non-carrier line than all the NILs carrying the Vrn-1 loci. Neither positive nor negative relationships were found between the WAP1 expression and the Cbf2/Cor/Lea expression. These results support the intimate relationship between the Cbf2/Cor/Lea expression and the level of freezing tolerance, and suggest that a functional Fr-A1 allele linked to the vrn-A1 allele, instead of the vernalization gene itself, plays a major role in regulating the CBF-mediated Cor/lea gene expression in wheat.