Genetius

The study identifies six functional FT-like genes and two pseudogenes in Brassica napus, revealing that while all can promote early flowering when expressed in Arabidopsis ft mutants, BnaFT.C6 and certain non‑orthologous genes lack full florigen mobility due to a specific amino‑acid substitution. Promoter and enhancer motif rearrangements affecting NF‑Y/CO binding correlate with altered tissue‑specific and photoperiod‑dependent expression, indicating that differential NF‑Y gene expression modulates B. napus FT regulation.

The study generated two allotriploid Brassica hybrids (ArAnCn) to investigate asymmetric subgenome dominance, finding that the Cn subgenome dominates despite the An subgenome showing highest expression levels. Increased density of accessible chromatin regions (ACRs) in the Cn subgenome correlates with dominant gene expression, while changes in CHH methylation and specific RNA‑directed DNA methylation pathway mutants affect subgenome bias.

The study demonstrates that the Brassica napus Rlm3 resistance protein can recognize the LARS‑family effector AvrLm3 from Leptosphaeria maculans as well as homologous effectors from Fusarium oxysporum and Zymoseptoria ardabiliae, and that this recognition can be suppressed by the AvrLm4-7 effector. By mutational analysis, the authors identified key protein regions and amino acids required for AvrLm3 and Ecp11-1 detection, providing a basis for engineering broad‑spectrum resistance.