Abstract
Gibberellin (GA) is a crucial hormone that drives parthenocarpy and fruit set progression. However, it remains unknown whether GA participates in the parthenocarpy and fruit set in jujube (Ziziphus jujuba Mill.). In this study, we observed the morphology and effect of parthenocarpy in jujube flowers with GA3 treatment. Liquid chromatography tandem-mass spectrometry analysis was performed to detect the levels of endogenous hormones in sepal spread (H), filament wilting (S), and ovary inflation (G) stages of jujube flowers, and the GA3-induced differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified by RNA sequencing. We found that GA3 improved jujube parthenocarpic fruit set and that the morphology and size of flowers after GA3 treatment were superior to those in control flowers. GA3 treatment increased the levels of gibberellin, ABA, auxins, and cytokinins in jujube flowers. RNA sequencing revealed that GA3-induced DEGs expressed in the H, S, and G stages. Functional and pathway analyses demonstrated that these DEGs belong to plant development, including glucan metabolic processes and plant hormone signal transduction. Moreover, quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction validated the reliability of the sequencing data. Fruit set–related genes were significantly induced in the H, S, and G stages of jujube flowers. Our study confirmed that GA3 induced phytohormone production and fruit set by regulating the expression of endogenous hormones and related genes.
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Data Availability
The datasets, materials, and code used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request. The sequencing data has been uploaded to the NCBI SRA database with an Accession Number of PRJNA588582.
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Funding
This work was supported by Project of Renovation Capacity Building for the Young Sci-Tech Talents Sponsored by Xinjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences (xjnkq-2020001), and Project of Central Finance Forestry Reform and Development Fund ([2018]TG08).
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Guarantor of integrity of the entire study: QH, KL. Study concepts and design: GH, KL, DF. Experimental studies: DF, LY, JJ, AA, JZ. Data acquisition: DF, LY, JJ. Data analysis: DF, JJ, JZ. Statistical analysis: LY, AA. Manuscript preparation: DF, LY. Manuscript editing and review: DF, LY, JJ, AA, JZ. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Key Messages
• What is already known about this study?
Gibberellin (GA) is a crucial hormone that drives parthenocarpy and fruit set progression.
• What are the new findings?
This study is the first to report the effect of GA on parthenocarpy and fruit set in jujube. This study explores the role of GA in jujube flowers. Moreover, this study provides the endogenous hormones and differential gene expression profiles in jujube flowers with GA treatment.
• How might this impact on policy or practice in the foreseeable future?
This study highlights the roles of GA in jujube development and provides the hormones and genes involved in jujube with GA treatment.
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Fan, D., Yang, L., Jin, J. et al. Hormonal and Transcriptomic Analysis Reveal Gibberellin-Induced Fruit Set in Jujube (Ziziphus jujuba Mill.). Plant Mol Biol Rep 40, 163–175 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11105-021-01308-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11105-021-01308-4