Plant dormancy is essential for perennial plant survival. Different genotypes of Prunus mume, including Eumume group and Apricot Mei group, undergo leaf senescence and dormancy at different times. In order to verify the cold resistance of P. mume, freeze resistance evaluation was carried out. Our results showed that Apricot Mei group had a stronger freezing tolerance than Eumume group and that leaf senescence and dormancy of Apricot Mei group occurred at an earlier period before winter. Based on phenotypic data in response to seasonal climate change, the significant candidate regions were selected using GWAS. Furthermore, through KEGG pathway and qRT-PCR analyses, we found that the ethylene-related genes, including PmEIL (Pm002057) and PmERF (Pm004265), were significantly upregulated in ‘Songchun’ Mei (Apricot Mei group) and downregulated in ‘Zaohua Lve’ Mei (Eumume group). Ethylene-related genes expression models showed that ethylene may be indirectly involved in the induction of dormancy. The PmEIL and PmERF genes were the core genes of the ethylene signal transduction pathway and were regulated by the exogenous ACC or PZA compounds. For non-dormant or weekly dormant perennial plants, application of ACC was able to induce plant dormancy and thus enhance cold/freeze tolerance. Overall, the expression of the major ethylene genes played a significant role in dormancy induction and freezing tolerance in P. mume; accordingly, application of ACC and PZA compounds were an effective approach for enhancing cold/freeze of tolerance of woody plant.

植物休眠对于多年生植物的生存至关重要。梅树的不同基因型，包括Eumume组和杏梅组，在不同的时间都会经历叶片衰老和休眠。为了验证云母的抗寒性，进行了抗冻性评估。我们的结果表明，杏梅组的抗寒能力强于枚举组，杏梅组的叶片衰老和休眠发生在冬季之前。基于响应季节性气候变化的表型数据，使用GWAS选择了重要的候选区域。此外，通过KEGG途径和qRT-PCR分析，我们发现乙烯相关基因，包括PmEIL（Pm002057）和PmERF（Pm004265）在'Songchun'Mei（杏梅组）中显着上调，在'Zaohua Lve'Mei（Eumume组）中下调。乙烯相关基因表达模型表明，乙烯可能间接参与了休眠的诱导。的PmEIL和PmERF基因是乙烯信号转导途径的核心基因和由外源ACC或PZA化合物调节。对于非休眠或每周休眠的多年生植物，ACC的使用能够诱导植物休眠，从而增强其耐冷/冻性。总体而言，主要乙烯基因的表达在休眠过程中发挥了重要作用。; 因此，施用ACC和PZA化合物是增强木本植物耐寒性的有效方法。