Late heading of perennial ryegrass caused by introducing an <i>Arabidopsis</i> homeobox gene

Abstract

Abstract Perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) is the most important temperate forage grass species. Unfortunately, the nutritional value of perennial ryegrass declines as maturity progresses, mainly because of a high concentration of poorly digestible compounds in inflorescences. Therefore, the development of forage‐type ryegrass varieties with extended vegetative growth is of interest for agriculture. To delay floral transition in perennial ryegrass the Arabidopsis ATH1 gene driven by the maize ubiquitin promoter, the rice actin promoter or the rice OSH1 promoter, respectively was introduced. In ATH1 ‐expressing plants heading was delayed, and in a number of cases the plants never flowered at all. Such non‐ or late‐heading was accompanied by the outgrowth of normally quiescent lateral meristems into extra leaves, resulting in a leafy growth habit. When eventually heading, these plants generally produced a reduced number of inflorescences. These observations suggest that ATH1 ‐mediated delay of heading may be useful to improve fodder quality of perennial ryegrass.