Fu Rao, Liang Xiaoyan, Li Jiajia, Song Yanjing, Yi Kuihua, Nie Wenjing, Ma Lan, Li Junlin, Li Meng, Wang Xiangyu, Zhang Haiyang, Zhang Hongxia
Yantai Key Laboratory for Evaluation and Utilization of Silkworm Functional Substances, Yantai Engineering Research Center for Plant Stem Cell Targeted Breeding, Shandong Institute of Sericulture, 5 Qingdao Avenue, Yantai 265503, China.
State Key Laboratory of Nutrient Use and Management, Institute of Agricultural, Resources and Environment, Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 23788 Gongye North Road, Jinan 250100, China.
Plants (Basel). 2025 Apr 15;14(8):1212. doi: 10.3390/plants14081212.
Quinoa ( Willd.) has been widely grown as a cash crop. However, the molecular mechanism by which it responds to cold stress at the seed germination stage is still largely unknown. In this study, we performed a comparative transcriptomic analysis between the cold-tolerant cultivar XCq and cold-sensitive cultivar QCq in response to cold stress. A total number of 4552 and 4845 differentially expressed genes () were identified in XCq and QCq upon the treatment of cold stress, respectively. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis demonstrated that the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway was identified only among the up-regulated DEGs in XCq.The expression of DEGs, which encoding transcription factors, such as AP2/ERF, bHLH, bZIP, MYB, ICEs, and CORs related to cold response, were higher in XCq than in QCq in response to cold stress. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) showed that DEGs clustered in the co-expression modules positively correlated with the factors of quinoa variety and temperature were significantly enriched in the oxidative phosphorylation metabolic pathway. Further physiochemical analyses showed that the activities of superoxide dismutase and peroxidase as well as the contents of soluble protein and sugar, were significantly higher in XCq than in QCq. In summary, MAPK signaling and oxidative metabolism were the key pathways in quinoa upon cold stress. Our findings revealed that the enhanced activities of antioxidant enzymes alleviate the lipid peroxidation of membranes and promote the accumulation of osmotic adjustment substances, thereby enabling seeds to better resist oxidative damage under cold stress.
藜麦（Chenopodium quinoa Willd.）已作为经济作物广泛种植。然而，其在种子萌发阶段对冷胁迫响应的分子机制仍 largely 未知。在本研究中，我们对耐寒品种 XCq 和冷敏感品种 QCq 在冷胁迫下进行了比较转录组分析。在冷胁迫处理后，分别在 XCq 和 QCq 中鉴定出总共 4552 个和 4845 个差异表达基因（DEGs）。京都基因与基因组百科全书（KEGG）通路分析表明，丝裂原活化蛋白激酶（MAPK）信号通路仅在 XCq 的上调 DEGs 中被鉴定到。在冷胁迫下，编码与冷响应相关的转录因子如 AP2/ERF、bHLH、bZIP、MYB、ICEs 和 CORs 的 DEGs 在 XCq 中的表达高于 QCq。加权基因共表达网络分析（WGCNA）表明，共表达模块中与藜麦品种和温度因素呈正相关的 DEGs 在氧化磷酸化代谢途径中显著富集。进一步的理化分析表明，XCq 中超氧化物歧化酶和过氧化物酶的活性以及可溶性蛋白和糖的含量均显著高于 QCq。总之，MAPK 信号传导和氧化代谢是藜麦在冷胁迫下的关键途径。我们的研究结果表明，抗氧化酶活性的增强减轻了膜的脂质过氧化并促进了渗透调节物质的积累，从而使种子能够在冷胁迫下更好地抵抗氧化损伤。
