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euAP2a, a key gene that regulates flowering time in peach (Prunus persica) by modulating thermo-responsive transcription programming
- Source :
- Horticulture Research; May 2024, Vol. 11 Issue: 5
- Publication Year :
- 2024
-
Abstract
- Frequent spring frost damage threatens temperate fruit production, and breeding of late-flowering cultivars is an effective strategy for preventing such damage. However, this effort is often hampered by the lack of specific genes and markers and a lack of understanding of the mechanisms. We examined a Late-Flowering Peach (LFP) germplasm and found that its floral buds require a longer chilling period to release from their dormancy and a longer warming period to bloom than the control cultivar, two key characteristics associated with flowering time. We discovered that a 983-bp deletion in euAP2a, an APETALA2(AP2)-related gene with known roles in regulating floral organ identity and flowering time, was primarily responsible for late flowering in LFP. This deletion disrupts an miR172 binding site, resulting in a gain-of-function mutation in euAP2a. Transcriptomic analyses revealed that at different stages of floral development, two chilling-responsive modules and four warm-responsive modules, comprising approximately 600 genes, were sequentially activated, forming a unique transcription programming. Furthermore, we found that euAP2awas transiently downregulated during the activation of these thermal-responsive modules at various stages. However, the loss of such transient, stage-specific downregulation of euAP2acaused by the deletion of miR172 binding sites resulted in the deactivation or delay of these modules in the LFPflower buds, suggesting that euAP2aacts as a transcription repressor to control floral developmental pace in peaches by modulating the thermo-responsive transcription programming. The findings shed light on the mechanisms behind late flowering in deciduous fruit trees, which is instrumental for breeding frost-tolerant cultivars.
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 26626810 and 20527276
- Volume :
- 11
- Issue :
- 5
- Database :
- Supplemental Index
- Journal :
- Horticulture Research
- Publication Type :
- Periodical
- Accession number :
- ejs66359749
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1093/hr/uhae076