Gene Expression Analysis of the Early Flowering 6 Homologues in Apricot Reveals Their Potential Role in Developmental Stages

In higher plants, regulation of gene expression and chromatin formation occurs by histone methylation and demethylation. Genes encoding JmjC-JmjN domains belong to the histone demethylase family and have an important role in the regulation of plant growth and development. Early Flowering 6 (AtELF6), which encodes the JmjC-JmjN domain in Arabidopsis thaliana, is a demethylase that regulates growth and development as well as the transition to flowering, but it has not been identified in apricot so far. In this study, two genes homologous to AtELF6 were identified for the first time in apricot. Gene expression analysis by RT-qPCR revealed that both ELF6 homologs were expressed in 12 different developmental stages of three different tissues. The fact that both homologues were expressed, especially in the flower bud, suggested that they play a role in the transition to flowering, similar to Arabidopsis thaliana. In summary, the information obtained from this study will provide a unique resource for understanding the role of ELF 6 in apricot growth and development, as well as for future functional characterization studies for the manipulation of the flowering transition.