Source: Proceedings ot the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Link: http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/0607877103v1?etoc

Cloning of DOG1, a quantitative trait locus controlling seed dormancy in Arabidopsis
Leónie Bentsink, Jemma Jowett, Corrie J. Hanhart, and Maarten Koornneef
Laboratory of Genetics, Wageningen University, Arboretumlaan 4, 6703 BD Wageningen, The Netherlands; and Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Carl-von-Linné-Weg 10, 50829 Cologne, Germany
Contributed by Maarten Koornneef, September 14, 2006

ABSTRACT

Genetic variation for seed dormancy in nature is a typical quantitative trait controlled by multiple loci on which environmental factors have a strong effect. Finding the genes underlying dormancy quantitative trait loci is a major scientific challenge, which also has relevance for agriculture and ecology. In this study we describe the identification of the DELAY OF GERMINATION 1 (DOG1) gene previously identified as a quantitative trait locus involved in the control of seed dormancy. This gene was isolated by a combination of positional cloning and mutant analysis and is absolutely required for the induction of seed dormancy. DOG1 is a member of a small gene family of unknown molecular function, with five members in Arabidopsis. The functional natural allelic variation present in Arabidopsis is caused by polymorphisms in the cis-regulatory region of the DOG1 gene and results in considerable expression differences between the DOG1 alleles of the accessions analyzed.