Journal Article Epublish
PubMed: 40094595 DOI: 10.3390/plants14050696
Transcriptome Profiling Reveals the Effects of Rootstocks on Scion Architecture in Borkh Var. 'Harlikar'.
Plants (Basel) 14(5)
Authors: Bin Xie, Junhao Li, Jiangtao Zhou, Guodong Kang, Zhongwen Tang, Xiaojian Ma, Xin Li, Jing Wang, Yanzhen Zhang, Yanhui Chen, Sumiao Yang, Cungang Cheng
Affiliations
- Shijiazhuang Institute of Fruit Trees, Hebei Academy of Agriculture and Forest, Shijiazhuang 050061, China.
- Key Laboratory of Mineral Nutrition and Efficient Fertilization for Deciduous Fruits, Key Laboratory of Fruit Germplasm Resources Utilization, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Research Institute of Pomology, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Xingcheng 125100, China.
Abstract
Rootstocks largely determine the tree architecture of the grafted scions, significantly affects yield, suitability for mechanical harvesting, and planting pattern of apple orchards. It is thus important to reveal the mechanisms behind the rootstocks influence on the tree architecture of scions in apple trees. This study analyzed the grafting survival rate, the physiological parameters including plant growth, photosynthesis and nutrient accumulation in the apple variety 'Harlikar' with eight apple rootstocks. We also explored the mechanism of scion architecture formation using transcriptomics based on different scion/rootstock combinations. The results indicated that 'Harlikar' had the lowest grafting survival rate with rootstock 'M26', with less callus formed at the graft interface, foliage etiolation, and weak photosynthetic capacity. While 'Harlikar' had better affinities with 'M9-T337', 'M9-Nic29', 'M9-Pajam2', 'B9', '71-3-150', 'Qingzhen 2', and ''. Among these, the highest plant height and the highest number of lateral branches were observed in 'Harlikar' with rootstock 'Qingzhen 2', they were 1.12-times and 2.0-times higher than 'Harlikar' with vigorous rootstock '', respectively. The highest accumulations of total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and total potassium in scions were observed in 'Harlikar'/'Qingzhen 2', they were 2.22-times, 2.10-times, and 11.80-times higher than that in 'Harlikar'/''. The lowest plant height was observed in 'Harlikar'/'71-3-150', only 50.47% of 'Harlikar'/'Qingzhen 2' and 56.51% of 'Harlikar'/'', and the lowest internode length was observed in 'Harlikar'/'M9-Nic29', only 60.76% of 'Harlikar'/'Qingzhen 2' and 79.11% of 'Harlikar'/''. The transcriptome, weighted gene co-expression network and KEGG enrichment analyses revealed that, compared to 'Harlikar'/'', most differentially expressed genes screened from 'Harlikar'/'Qingzhen 2', 'Harlikar'/'71-3-150', and 'Harlikar'/'M9-Nic29' were enriched in hormone signal transduction pathways. Specifically, auxin-repressed protein gene , cytokinin synthesis related genes and , and brassinosteroid synthesis related gene were involved in the dwarfing of 'Harlikar'/'71-3-150' and 'Harlikar'/'M9-Nic29'. Cytokinin synthesis related gene and abscisic acid-responsive element binding factor gene were the key to increased branching in 'Harlikar'/'Qingzhen 2'. In addition, acid phosphatase genes , and serine/threonine-protein kinase genes were involved in the vegetative growth of scions in 'Harlikar'/'Qingzhen 2' by affecting the absorption and utilization of nutrients. These results provide theoretical guidance for cultivating high-quality 'Harlikar' apple trees and elucidate the molecular mechanisms regulating plant height and lateral branch formation in apple.
MeSH
Nutrients, Genes, Gene Expression Profiling, Growth, Transcriptome, Food, Transplants, Survival Rate