ANNOUNCEMENTS
Brassicaceae has been a key family to study about the effect of polyploidization on the functionality of different homologs of a gene. In diploidized polyploids and allotetraploids, multiple copies of a single gene are present which calls for further studies on the possible functional diversification of these copies. SOC1 is an important gene for our study as it is a major flowering gene in plants, both monocots and dicots. Involved in 9 different pathways SOC1 cumulates signals from different input sources and allows the plant a smooth transition from vegetative to flowering stage. In this study, we investigate the regulatory effect of SOC1, a key flowering gene, with respect to upstream TFs and downstream targets. RNA expression levels are obtained from publicly available, free sources spanning numerous tissues and developmental stages. Pearson's correlation coefficient is used in statistical analysis to measure the influence of SOC1 on the target genes by comparing the RNA expression levels of SOC1 homologs to the interacting genes. Using the values of this correlation followed by single factor ANOVA we have observed some interesting patterns of correlation wherein a group of homologs of SOC1 follow a set pattern, with the exception of one homolog which takes up a diverged pattern. This contrasting pattern could be suggestive of a strong functional diversification, either pseudogenization or neo functionalization which is usually the case in polyploid organisms. Thus, these findings are essential to highlight the functional changes that gene duplication brings.
Keywords: Polyploidy, SOC1, homologs, correlation, functionalization.
