Identification of Jasmonic Acid Biosynthetic Genes in Sweet Cherry and Expression Analysis in Four Ancient Varieties from Tuscany

Abstract

Sweet cherries are non-climacteric fruits whose early development is characterized by high levels of the phytohormone jasmonic acid (JA). Important parameters, such as firmness and susceptibility to cracking, can be affected by pre- and postharvest treatments of sweet cherries with JA. Despite the impact of JA on sweet cherry development and fruit characteristics, there are no studies (to the best of our knowledge) identifying the genes involved in the JA biosynthetic pathway in this species. We herein identify the sweet cherry members of the lipoxygenase family (13-LOX); allene oxide synthase, allene oxide cyclase and 12-oxo-phytodienoic acid reductase 3, as well as genes encoding the transcriptional master regulator MYC2. We analyze their expression pattern in four non-commercial Tuscan varieties (‘Carlotta’, ‘Maggiola’, ‘Morellona’, ‘Crognola’) having different levels of bioactives (namely phenolics). The highest differences are found in two genes encoding 13-LOX in the variety ‘Maggiola’ and one MYC2 isoform in ‘Morellona’. No statistically-significant variations are instead present in the allene oxide synthase, allene oxide cyclase and 12-oxo-phytodienoic acid reductase 3. Our data pave the way to follow-up studies on the JA signaling pathway in these ancient varieties, for example in relation to development and post-harvest storage.

Molecular investigation of Tuscan sweet cherries sampled over three years: gene expression analysis coupled to metabolomics and proteomics

“…2 ). This result is in agreement with the previously published data obtained using spectrophotometric assays and targeted metabolite quantification using HPLC-DAD 3 , 5 , 21 : Crognola and Morellona produced high amounts of pentacyclic triterpenes, as well as anthocyanins and flavonoids.…”

“…The results obtained with metabolomics showed an impact of the genotype on the biosynthesis of flavonoids: this is well known and supported by a strong body of evidence in the literature 20 , 29 – 32 . Based on these results and those previously published 3 , 5 , 21 , Crognola and Morellona appear to be genetically predisposed to produce high amounts of secondary metabolites. Interestingly, these two varieties clustered together in a separate branch of the dendrogram (Fig.…”

“…Both varieties are characterized by a red color of the skin 42 ; however, Morellona is the only variety with a red pulp. Therefore, the high content of anthocyanins reported previously 3 , 21 can be explained by a higher gene expression. Durone showed also high expression of MYB10.1 , especially in 2017 and 2018: this can be explained by the intense red color of both the skin and the pulp, features that make these commercial fruits particularly appealing to consumers.…”

Chromosome-scale genome assembly of sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) cv. Tieton obtained using long-read and Hi-C sequencing

“…Three members of TCH4 (xyloglucan endotransglucosylase/hydrolase protein) involved in the brassinosteroid signal transduction pathway were identified as DEGs, which were mainly expressed in the middle stage of fruit development in sweet cherry. One jasmonate ZIM domain-containing protein (identified as TIFY 9) was increased during the fruit ripening process, which confirms that jasmonic acid is involved in this process in sweet cherry [37][38][39] . One AHP (histidine-containing phosphotransfer protein 1like) was decreased during this process, consistent with the endogenous cytokinin level changes in sweet cherry fruit development 34 .…”

The OPR gene family in watermelon: Genome‐wide identification and expression profiling under hormone treatments and root‐knot nematode infection

“…2002), rice (Sobajima et al 2003; Agrawal et al 2003; Tani et al 2008; Pak et al 2020), pea (Matsui et al 2004), wheat (Dong et al 2013; Wang et al 2016), barley Al‐Momany & Abu‐Romman 2014), tea (Xin et al 2017), Selaginella moellendorffii (Pratiwi et al. 2017) and sweet cherry (Berni et al 2019).…”