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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Genet.
Sec. Genomics of Plants and the Phytoecosystem
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fgene.2024.1438276
This article is part of the Research Topic Environmental Adaptation of Trees Based on Functional Genomics View all articles

Discovery of candidate genes involved in ethylene biosynthesis and signal transduction pathways related to peach bud cold resistance

Provisionally accepted
Wenqian Xia Wenqian Xia Yupeng Yang Yupeng Yang Chenguang Zhang Chenguang Zhang Chunsheng Liu Chunsheng Liu Kun Xiao Kun Xiao Xiao Xiao Xiao Xiao Junkai Wu Junkai Wu Yanhong Shen Yanhong Shen Libin Zhang Libin Zhang Kai Su Kai Su *
  • Hebei Normal University of Science and Technology, Qinhuangdao, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Low temperature pose significant challenges to peach cultivation, causing severe damage to peach buds and restricting production and distribution. Ethylene, an important phytohormone, plays a critical role in enhancing plant cold resistance. Structural genes and transcription factors involved in ethylene biosynthesis and signal transduction pathways are associated with cold resistance. However, no research has specifically addressed their roles in peach cold resistance. Therefore, in this study, we aimed for cold-resistance gene discovery in cold-sensitive peach cultivar '21Shiji' (21SJ) and cold-resistance cultivar 'Shijizhixing' (SJZX) using RNA-seq and gas chromatography. The findings revealed that under cold stress conditions, ethylene biosynthesis in 'SJZX' was significantly induced. Subsequently, a structural gene, PpACO1-1, involved in ethylene biosynthesis in peach buds was significantly upregulated and showed a higher correlation with ethylene release rate. To identify potential transcription factors associated with PpACO1-1 expression and ethylene signal transduction, weighted gene co-expression network analysis was conducted using RNA-seq data. Four transcription factors: PpERF2, PpNAC078, PpWRKY65 and PpbHLH112, were identified. These findings provide valuable theoretical insights for investigating the regulatory mechanisms of peach cold resistance and guiding breeding strategies.

    Keywords: Peach buds, cold resistance, ethylene, transcription factor, Regulatory mechanism, candidate gene

    Received: 25 May 2024; Accepted: 08 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Xia, Yang, Zhang, Liu, Xiao, Xiao, Wu, Shen, Zhang and Su. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Kai Su, Hebei Normal University of Science and Technology, Qinhuangdao, China

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