Effects of light spectrum on the morphophysiology and gene expression of lateral branching in Pepino (Solanum muricatum)

Abstract

In the present study, we determined the morphological and physiological indicators of Pepino to elucidate its lateral branching responses to different light qualities using a full-spectrum lamp (F) as the control and eight different light ratios using blue light (B) and red light (R). In addition, correlation analysis revealed that the gene expression patterns correlated with lateral branching under various light treatments. Compared with the F treatment, the R treatment increased the plant height and inhibited the elongation of lateral branches, in contrast with the B treatment. The number of lateral branches did not change significantly under different light quality treatments. Moreover, correlation analysis showed that the ratio of blue light was significantly positively correlated with the length of lateral branches and significantly negatively correlated with plant height, aboveground dry weight, and other indicators. We conducted transcriptome sequencing of the sites of lateral branching at three periods under different light quality treatments. The gene related to photodynamic response, cryptochrome (CRY), was the most highly expressed under B treatment, negatively regulated lateral branch length, and positively correlated with plant height. Branched 1, a lateral branch regulation gene, was upregulated under R treatment and inhibited branching. Overall, the red light facilitated internode elongation, leaf area expansion, plant dry weight increase, and inhibition of lateral branching. Soluble sugar content increased, and the lateral branches elongated under blue light. Different light qualities regulated lateral branching by mediating different pathways involving strigolactones and CRY. Our findings laid a foundation for further clarifying the response mechanism of Pepino seedlings to light and provided a theoretical reference for elucidating the regulation of different light qualities on the lateral branching of Pepino.

Systematic Investigation of TCP Gene Family: Genome-Wide Identification and Light-Regulated Gene Expression Analysis in Pepino (Solanum Muricatum)

“…Presently, lateral branch pruning is a time- and labor-intensive process that requires substantial resources [ 9 ]. In accordance with our previous study, correlation analysis revealed that the gene expression patterns correlated with lateral branching under various light treatments in S. muricatum [ 10 ]. Significant differential expression can be observed for the TCP transcription factor TEOSINTE BRANCHED under different light treatments.…”

“…The illumination time was 14 h/d. S. muricatum cultivation, sample processing and collection were performed as previously described [ 10 ].…”

“…Therefore, we initially hypothesized that the plants can distinguish between different light conditions, selecting patterns that reach equilibrium during development. The same TCP regulatory mechanisms in different light treatments might exist for model species such as Arabidopsis thaliana [ 10 ].…”

“…Our group discovered a differential response of pepino to red and blue light in lateral branch genesis in our preliminary study. Overall, red light facilitated internode elongation and inhibited lateral branching, while the lateral branches elongated under blue light, in which BRC2 played a major role [ 10 ]. We reviewed a large amount of research and finally located TCP in lateral branch development and light quality response.…”

Metabolomics analysis of quality components metabolism during the growth process of pepino ( Solanum muricatum ) fruit

“…The similarity in nutritional composition among pepino, eggplant, and tomato is mainly due to their close relationship as closely related species. 25 , 26 From a molecular biology perspective, their genomes share many similarities, leading to commonalities in genetic information and metabolic pathways. 27 …”