State Key Laboratory of Tree Genetics and Breeding, College of Forestry, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, 150040, China.
Inner Mongolia Academy of Agricultural and Animal Husbandry Science, Hohhot, China.
BMC Plant Biol. 2024 Nov 15;24(1):1081. doi: 10.1186/s12870-024-05796-w.
Single flowers and double flowers, exhibiting distinct flower morphologies, developmental process and regulatory networks, have garnered significant attention recently. In yellowhorn (Xanthoceras sorbifolium), the cause of double flower variation has been elucidated, yet the differences in regulatory networks between single and double flowers remain unexplored.
Here, we investigated transcriptional changes underlying flower development among yellowhorn single- and double-flowered-trees. Transcriptome analysis and weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) were applied to identify key genes and reveal the characteristics of single and double flower traits. The involvement of development-specific and flower-type-specific DEGs related to hormone signaling, metabolism, growth and development was identified, and ABC(D)E model genes were found to be closely associated with floral organ development. Overexpression of yellowhorn ABC(D)E model genes in Arabidopsis demonstrated their roles in floral organ development, and the interactions between different pairs of genes were also validated by yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) experiments.
Therefore we elucidated differences between yellowhorn single and double flower development, highlighting the roles of yellowhorn ABC(D)E model genes in controlling flower structures, which not only enriches the understanding of yellowhorn flower researches, but also provides insights for studying flower development in other woody species.
单瓣花和重瓣花表现出明显不同的花形态、发育过程和调控网络，最近引起了广泛关注。在黄栌（Xanthoceras sorbifolium）中，已经阐明了重瓣花变异的原因，但单瓣花和重瓣花之间调控网络的差异仍未得到探索。
在这里，我们研究了黄栌单瓣和重瓣树花发育过程中的转录变化。我们应用转录组分析和加权基因共表达网络分析（WGCNA）来鉴定关键基因，并揭示单瓣花和重瓣花特征的特点。鉴定出与激素信号转导、代谢、生长和发育相关的发育特异性和花型特异性 DEGs，发现 ABC(D)E 模型基因与花器官发育密切相关。在拟南芥中过表达黄栌 ABC(D)E 模型基因表明它们在花器官发育中的作用，并且通过酵母双杂交（Y2H）实验验证了不同基因对之间的相互作用。
因此，我们阐明了黄栌单瓣花和重瓣花发育之间的差异，强调了黄栌 ABC(D)E 模型基因在控制花结构中的作用，这不仅丰富了对黄栌花研究的认识，也为研究其他木本物种的花发育提供了思路。
