Abstract
Bud dormancy in deciduous fruit trees is an important adaptive mechanism for their survival in cold climates. The WRKY genes participate in several developmental and physiological processes, including dormancy. However, the dormancy mechanisms of WRKY genes have not been studied in detail. We conducted a genome-wide analysis and identified 58 WRKY genes in peach. These putative genes were located on all eight chromosomes. In bioinformatics analyses, we compared the sequences of WRKY genes from peach, rice, and Arabidopsis. In a cluster analysis, the gene sequences formed three groups, of which group II was further divided into five subgroups. Gene structure was highly conserved within each group, especially in groups IId and III. Gene expression analyses by qRT-PCR showed that WRKY genes showed different expression patterns in peach buds during dormancy. The mean expression levels of six WRKY genes (Prupe.6G286000, Prupe.1G393000, Prupe.1G114800, Prupe.1G071400, Prupe.2G185100, and Prupe.2G307400) increased during endodormancy and decreased during ecodormancy, indicating that these six WRKY genes may play a role in dormancy in a perennial fruit tree. This information will be useful for selecting fruit trees with desirable dormancy characteristics or for manipulating dormancy in genetic engineering programs.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00438-016-1171-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
To endure harsh environmental conditions in winter, perennial deciduous fruit trees have developed adaptation mechanisms such as dormancy and overwintering
The WRKY transcription factors (TFs) are involved in seed dormancy in Arabidopsis, but it is unknown whether they are involved in bud dormancy in
Members of the WRKY-gene family have been identified in many species, but not in peach until now
Summary
To endure harsh environmental conditions in winter, perennial deciduous fruit trees have developed adaptation mechanisms such as dormancy and overwintering (bud dormancy). With global warming, perennial deciduous fruit trees have shown irregular phenologies because of inadequate winter chilling. These irregularities adversely affect fruit production (Luedeling et al 2011). There are several types of dormancy in plants; ecodormancy, paradormancy, and endodormancy (Lang 1987). Dormancy is one of the key factors limiting fruit production. The WRKY transcription factors (TFs) are involved in seed dormancy in Arabidopsis, but it is unknown whether they are involved in bud dormancy in
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