Physiological Change and Transcriptome Analysis of Chinese Wild Vitis amurensis and Vitis vinifera in Response to Cold Stress

Abstract

The Chinese wild Vitis amurensis Rupr. is a crucial resource for cold-resistant germplasm, but the molecular mechanism of cold resistance in V. amurensis has not been clarified. We conducted a physiological and transcriptome analysis of potted plants of V. amurensis accession “Shuangyou” (cold-resistant) and Vitis vinifera cultivar “Red Globe” (cold-sensitive) subjected to 0 °C for 3, 12, 48, and 72 h. The “Shuangyou” exhibited lower electrolyte leakage (EL) and malondialdehyde (MDA) compared with “Red Globe.” The proline contents in “Shuangyou” was higher than “Red Globe” at 0 and 48 h while lower than “Red Globe” at other time points. On the whole, catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and peroxidase (POD) activity in “Shuangyou” was higher than “Red Globe,” and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) activity in “Shuangyou” was lower than “Red Globe.” Transcriptome analysis showed that 240, 310, 1072, and 1107 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were detected in “Red Globe” at 3, 12, 48, and 72 h, respectively, and 32, 1161, 1894, and 3290 DEGs were found in “Shuangyou” at the same time points, respectively. Functional categories of DEGs included metabolic processes and signal transduction involved with cold resistance in grapevine. The high expression level of encoding peroxiredoxin genes in V. amurensis revealed a strong ability to scavenge reactive oxygen species (ROS). The expression levels of 5 DEGs in “Shuangyou” were more than 20 times higher than those of “Red Globe” at all time points, indicating that some cold-related special pathways maybe involved in V. amurensis. These related genes, as candidate transcripts, may contribute to excellent cold-hardiness breeding in grape.