Comparative transcriptome analysis provides insights into the mechanism of pear dwarfing

Dwarfism is an important trait which is closely related to the efficiency of fruit orchard management and production. However, dwarfing cannot be widely applied in the cultivation of pears, especially Asian pears. Developing varieties with dwarf characteristics is a goal of paramount importance in p...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Zi-kai TANG, Man-yi SUN, Jia-ming LI, Bo-bo SONG, Yue-yuan LIU, Yi-ke TIAN, Cai-hong WANG, Jun WU
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2022-07-01
Series:Journal of Integrative Agriculture
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095311921637747
_version_ 1818536047348285440
author Zi-kai TANG
Man-yi SUN
Jia-ming LI
Bo-bo SONG
Yue-yuan LIU
Yi-ke TIAN
Cai-hong WANG
Jun WU
author_facet Zi-kai TANG
Man-yi SUN
Jia-ming LI
Bo-bo SONG
Yue-yuan LIU
Yi-ke TIAN
Cai-hong WANG
Jun WU
author_sort Zi-kai TANG
collection DOAJ
description Dwarfism is an important trait which is closely related to the efficiency of fruit orchard management and production. However, dwarfing cannot be widely applied in the cultivation of pears, especially Asian pears. Developing varieties with dwarf characteristics is a goal of paramount importance in pear breeding. In the present study, dwarf phenotype pears (DPPs) and arborescent phenotype pears (APPs) were obtained from the offspring of a cross between ‘Aiyuxiang’ and ‘Cuiguan’ pear cultivars, which exhibited dwarfed and arborescent statures, respectively. When compared with APPs, the heights of DPPs showed a 62.8% reduction, and the internode lengths were significantly shorter. Cross-grafting between DPPs and APPs demonstrated that the dwarfed phenotype of DPPs was primarily induced by the aerial portions of the plant, and independent of the root system. Observations of stem tissue sections showed that DPP cells were arranged chaotically with irregular shapes, and the average length was larger than that of the APP cells. A total of 1 401 differently expressed genes (DEGs) in shoot apices between DPPs and APPs were identified by RNA-sequencing (RNA-Seq), and these DEGs were mainly enriched in the ‘phytohormone-related pathways, cell wall metabolism and cell division’ categories. Moreover, 101 DEGs were identified as transcription factors (TFs). In DPPs, several brassinosteroids (BR) signaling and cell cycle-related genes were significantly down-regulated, while genes involved in BR and GA degradation were up-regulated. Comprehensive analysis of RNA-Seq data and stem tissue sections suggested that the dwarfed phenotype of DPPs could be primarily attributed to deficiencies in cell division. Previous work using simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers narrowed the location of the gene responsible for the dwarf phenotype of ‘Le Nain Vert’. Through combined analysis of our transcriptomic data with the SSR results, we identified four genes as promising candidates for the dwarf phenotype, among which, a DELLA gene could be the most promising. The results presented in this study provide a sound foundation for further exploration into the genetic and molecular mechanisms underlying pear dwarfing.
first_indexed 2024-12-11T18:32:57Z
format Article
id doaj.art-d9154079412347c6b753816cab27a977
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2095-3119
language English
last_indexed 2024-12-11T18:32:57Z
publishDate 2022-07-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series Journal of Integrative Agriculture
spelling doaj.art-d9154079412347c6b753816cab27a9772022-12-22T00:54:52ZengElsevierJournal of Integrative Agriculture2095-31192022-07-0121719521967Comparative transcriptome analysis provides insights into the mechanism of pear dwarfingZi-kai TANG0Man-yi SUN1Jia-ming LI2Bo-bo SONG3Yue-yuan LIU4Yi-ke TIAN5Cai-hong WANG6Jun WU7College of Horticulture, State Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Germplasm Enhancement, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, P.R.ChinaCollege of Horticulture, State Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Germplasm Enhancement, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, P.R.ChinaCollege of Horticulture, State Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Germplasm Enhancement, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, P.R.ChinaCollege of Horticulture, State Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Germplasm Enhancement, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, P.R.ChinaCollege of Horticulture, State Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Germplasm Enhancement, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, P.R.ChinaCollege of Horticulture, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao 266109, P.R.ChinaCollege of Horticulture, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao 266109, P.R.China; Correspondence WANG Cai-hongCollege of Horticulture, State Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Germplasm Enhancement, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, P.R.China; Correspondence WU JunDwarfism is an important trait which is closely related to the efficiency of fruit orchard management and production. However, dwarfing cannot be widely applied in the cultivation of pears, especially Asian pears. Developing varieties with dwarf characteristics is a goal of paramount importance in pear breeding. In the present study, dwarf phenotype pears (DPPs) and arborescent phenotype pears (APPs) were obtained from the offspring of a cross between ‘Aiyuxiang’ and ‘Cuiguan’ pear cultivars, which exhibited dwarfed and arborescent statures, respectively. When compared with APPs, the heights of DPPs showed a 62.8% reduction, and the internode lengths were significantly shorter. Cross-grafting between DPPs and APPs demonstrated that the dwarfed phenotype of DPPs was primarily induced by the aerial portions of the plant, and independent of the root system. Observations of stem tissue sections showed that DPP cells were arranged chaotically with irregular shapes, and the average length was larger than that of the APP cells. A total of 1 401 differently expressed genes (DEGs) in shoot apices between DPPs and APPs were identified by RNA-sequencing (RNA-Seq), and these DEGs were mainly enriched in the ‘phytohormone-related pathways, cell wall metabolism and cell division’ categories. Moreover, 101 DEGs were identified as transcription factors (TFs). In DPPs, several brassinosteroids (BR) signaling and cell cycle-related genes were significantly down-regulated, while genes involved in BR and GA degradation were up-regulated. Comprehensive analysis of RNA-Seq data and stem tissue sections suggested that the dwarfed phenotype of DPPs could be primarily attributed to deficiencies in cell division. Previous work using simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers narrowed the location of the gene responsible for the dwarf phenotype of ‘Le Nain Vert’. Through combined analysis of our transcriptomic data with the SSR results, we identified four genes as promising candidates for the dwarf phenotype, among which, a DELLA gene could be the most promising. The results presented in this study provide a sound foundation for further exploration into the genetic and molecular mechanisms underlying pear dwarfing.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095311921637747peardwarf phenotypeRNA-Seqcell divisionphytohormones
spellingShingle Zi-kai TANG
Man-yi SUN
Jia-ming LI
Bo-bo SONG
Yue-yuan LIU
Yi-ke TIAN
Cai-hong WANG
Jun WU
Comparative transcriptome analysis provides insights into the mechanism of pear dwarfing
Journal of Integrative Agriculture
pear
dwarf phenotype
RNA-Seq
cell division
phytohormones
title Comparative transcriptome analysis provides insights into the mechanism of pear dwarfing
title_full Comparative transcriptome analysis provides insights into the mechanism of pear dwarfing
title_fullStr Comparative transcriptome analysis provides insights into the mechanism of pear dwarfing
title_full_unstemmed Comparative transcriptome analysis provides insights into the mechanism of pear dwarfing
title_short Comparative transcriptome analysis provides insights into the mechanism of pear dwarfing
title_sort comparative transcriptome analysis provides insights into the mechanism of pear dwarfing
topic pear
dwarf phenotype
RNA-Seq
cell division
phytohormones
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095311921637747
work_keys_str_mv AT zikaitang comparativetranscriptomeanalysisprovidesinsightsintothemechanismofpeardwarfing
AT manyisun comparativetranscriptomeanalysisprovidesinsightsintothemechanismofpeardwarfing
AT jiamingli comparativetranscriptomeanalysisprovidesinsightsintothemechanismofpeardwarfing
AT bobosong comparativetranscriptomeanalysisprovidesinsightsintothemechanismofpeardwarfing
AT yueyuanliu comparativetranscriptomeanalysisprovidesinsightsintothemechanismofpeardwarfing
AT yiketian comparativetranscriptomeanalysisprovidesinsightsintothemechanismofpeardwarfing
AT caihongwang comparativetranscriptomeanalysisprovidesinsightsintothemechanismofpeardwarfing
AT junwu comparativetranscriptomeanalysisprovidesinsightsintothemechanismofpeardwarfing