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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Physiology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1432166

Comparative transcriptome analysis of two pomelo accessions with different parthenocarpic ability provides insight into the molecular mechanisms of parthenocarpy in pomelo (Citrus grandis)

Provisionally accepted
Keke Zhao Keke Zhao 1,2*Yunchun Zhang Yunchun Zhang 1Sulei She Sulei She 2Ziwei Yang Ziwei Yang 1Yue Zhang Yue Zhang 2Weiping Nie Weiping Nie 1Xu Wei Xu Wei 3Haiyan Sun Haiyan Sun 1Jiangbo Dang Jiangbo Dang 1Shuming Wang Shuming Wang 1Di Wu Di Wu 1Qiao He Qiao He 1Qigao Guo Qigao Guo 1Guolu Liang Guolu Liang 1Suqiong Xiang Suqiong Xiang 1*
  • 1 College of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
  • 2 State Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Germplasm Enhancement, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China
  • 3 Citrus Research and Education Center, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Lake Alfred, Florida, United States

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

    Parthenocarpy is an important way for seedless fruit production in citrus. However, the molecular mechanism(s) of parthenocarpy in pomelo is still unknown. Our initial study found significantly different parthenocarpic abilities in Guanximiyou (G) and Shatianyou (S) pomelo following emasculation, and an endogenous hormone content assay revealed that indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), gibberellic acid (GA3) and zeatin (ZT) jointly promoted fruit expansion and cell division in parthenocarpic pomelo (G pomelo).To unravel the underlying molecular mechanism(s), we conducted the first transcriptome analysis on the two pomelo accessions at these two critical stages: the fruit initiation stage and the rapid expansion stage, in order to identify genes associated with parthenocarpy. This analysis yielded approximately 7.86 Gb of high-quality reads, and the subsequent de novo assembly resulted in the identification of 5,792 DEGs (Differentially Expressed Genes). Among these, a range of transcription factor families such as CgERF, CgC2H2, CgbHLH, CgNAC and CgMYB, along with genes like CgLAX2, CgGH3.6 and CgGH3, emerged as potential candidates contributing to pomelo parthenocarpy, as confirmed by qRT-PCR analysis. The present study provides comprehensive transcriptomic profiles of both parthenocarpic and non-parthenocarpic pomelos, reveals several metabolic pathways linked to parthenocarpy, and highlights the significant role of plant hormones in its regulation. These findings deepen our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying parthenocarpy in pomelo.

    Keywords: Parthenocarpy, Pomelo, Cell Division, IAA, Transcriptome

    Received: 13 May 2024; Accepted: 08 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Zhao, Zhang, She, Yang, Zhang, Nie, Wei, Sun, Dang, Wang, Wu, He, Guo, Liang and Xiang. 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:
    Keke Zhao, College of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
    Suqiong Xiang, College of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Southwest University, Chongqing, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.