ABSTRACT

Plant-specific CDF genes encode a class of transcription factors which play crucial roles in plant flowering, especially in photoperiod-regulated flowering. But little is known about the potential functions of MdCDFs during flower induction in apple. In this study, 11 putative MdCDFs were identified and named systematically. Bioinformatic analysis revealed a functional and structural similarity among the MdCDFs. Analysis of tandem and synteny revealed several paired CDF homologs between apple and Arabidopsis. RT-qPCR revealed that MdCDFs exhibited distinct expression patterns in different apple tissues and most of them displayed high expression levels in flowers and leaves. Further expression profiles of MdCDFs were investigated in different-flowering varieties of apple and in response to sugar treatment. The results indicated that MdCDFs were responsive to floral induction. Meanwhile, the expressions of all MdCDFs were inhibited in buds during different floral induction stages after sugar treatment. The expressions of flowering-related and photoperiod pathway-related genes showed differences and may indicate that most of the MdCDFs may function as a light response flowering inhibitor and could be repressed by the sugar-mediated floral induction. Collectively, the comprehensive analysis of MdCDFs provides valuable information on their expression during floral induction that will serve as a foundation for further studies.

摘要

植物特异性CDF基因编码一类转录因子，这些转录因子在植物开花，尤其是在光周期调节的开花中起着至关重要的作用。但是对苹果花诱导过程中MdCDF的潜在功能知之甚少。在这项研究中，鉴定并系统命名了11种假定的MdCDF。生物信息学分析显示MdCDF之间的功能和结构相似。串联和同构分析显示苹果和拟南芥之间有多个成对CDF同源物。RT-qPCR显示MdCDF苹果在不同的苹果组织中表现出不同的表达模式，并且大多数在花和叶中表现出高表达水平。研究了MdCDF s在不同花朵的苹果品种中以及响应糖处理后的进一步表达情况。结果表明，MdCDF对花诱导有响应。同时，糖处理后不同花诱导期芽中所有MdCDF的表达均受到抑制。开花相关和光周期相关基因的表达存在差异，可能表明大多数MdCDFs可能起光响应开花抑制剂的作用，并可能被糖介导的花诱导所抑制。总的来说，对MdCDF的全面分析提供了有关它们在花诱导过程中表达的有价值的信息，这将为进一步研究奠定基础。