Effects of Gibberellic Acid and Auxin on Expression of Genes Involved in Flixweed Flowering

Flixweed is an annual or biennial herbaceous plant. The seeds of this plant are small, slightly elongated, and typically come in two colors that form inside the pod. A lack of synchronized care for the sorrel pods on the main stem leads to grain loss and a reduction in economic yield. The flowering process and the genes involved play a crucial role in coordinating the formation, growth, and maturation of Flixweed pods. The aim of this study was to investigate the expression patterns of genes involved in the flowering process of Flixweed—namely, LFY, TFL, AG, FLC, AP1, and MYB24—under different concentrations of gibberellin and auxin treatments. Thus, increasing or decreasing the expression of these genes can impact the rate of Flixweed grain loss. The results of the analysis of variance showed that the effects of auxin and gibberellin foliar application levels on the relative expression of the LFY, TFL, AG, FLC, AP1, and MYB24 genes were significant at the 1% probability level. Based on a comparison of the results, the mean relative expression levels of the LFY, TFL, AG, and MYB24 genes were influenced by treatments with gibberellic acid and auxin. The highest relative expression of FLC was observed with the application of 60 mg/L auxin. The lowest relative expression levels of LFY (2.9466), TFL (5.6466), AG (4.3066), and MYB24 (-1.6867) were observed with the application of 30 mg/L auxin. The lowest relative expression of FLC and AP1 genes was achieved with the foliar application of 15 mg/L auxin and 60 mg/L gibberellin, respectively.