Abstract
Bud endodormancy is a complex physiological process that is indispensable for the survival, growth, and development of deciduous perennial plants. The timely release of endodormancy is essential for flowering and fruit production of deciduous fruit trees. A better understanding of the mechanism of endodormancy will be of great help in the artificial regulation of endodormancy to cope with climate change and in creating new cultivars with different chilling requirements. Studies in poplar have clarified the mechanism of vegetative bud endodormancy, but the endodormancy of floral buds in fruit trees needs further study. In this review, we focus on the molecular regulation of endodormancy induction, maintenance and release in floral buds of deciduous fruit trees. We also describe recent advances in quantitative trait loci analysis of chilling requirements in fruit trees. We discuss phytohormones, epigenetic regulation, and the detailed molecular network controlling endodormancy, centered on SHORT VEGETATIVE PHASE (SVP) and Dormancy-associated MADS-box (DAM) genes during endodormancy maintenance and release. Combining previous studies and our observations, we propose a regulatory model for bud endodormancy and offer some perspectives for the future.
Highlights
Dormancy refers to a temporary suspension of visible growth of any plant structure containing a meristem[1] and is a biological characteristic of higher plants adapted to seasonal environmental changes through long-term natural selection[2]
We focus on bud endodormancy of deciduous fruit trees, summarizing the recent progress on endodormancy regulation and discussing the scientific questions still to be addressed to further understand the mechanism of bud endodormancy
Environmental changes cause the accumulation of Abscisic acid (ABA), leading to the differential expression of transcription factors (e.g., ABF, CBF, and Dormancy-associated MADS-box (DAM)/SHORT VEGETATIVE PHASE (SVP))
Summary
Endodormancy induction in deciduous fruit trees In many deciduous fruit trees, such as pear and apple, growth cessation and flower bud differentiation often occur in early summer (May–June in China)[25] when the days become longer and the temperature higher[25], while the establishment of endodormancy happens in late autumn when the days become shorter and the temperature lower. Heide and Prestrud[26] showed that growth arrest and bud formation in pear and apple could be induced by artificial low temperatures rather than short days. The factors regulating the growth cessation of deciduous fruit trees under natural conditions need further study, as Cooke et al.[27] commented. Whether bud endodormancy of deciduous fruit trees is induced by endogenous ABA under natural conditions remains unclear because of the lack of a genetic analysis approach
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