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This work was funded by Fine Agrochemicals Ltd and by the University of Padova (DOR1989001/19, BIRD200027/20 and DOR2018552/20).Open access funding provided by Universita degli Studi di Padova.

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Tijero, VeronicaAuthor
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A gibberellin-assisted study of the transcriptional and hormonal changes occurring at floral transition in peach buds (Prunus persica L. Batsch)

Publicated to:Bmc Plant Biology. 24 (1): 643- - 2024-07-08 24(1), DOI: 10.1186/s12870-024-05360-6

Authors: Girardi, F; Canton, M; Populin, F; Tijero, V; Bettio, G; Munné-Bosch, S; Rasori, A; Cardillo, V; Costa, G; Botton, A

Affiliations

Fdn Edmund Mach, Res & Innovat Ctr CRI, Berry Genet & Breeding Unit, I-38098 Trento, Italy - Author
Inst Agrifood Res & Technol IRTA, Fruit Prod Program, Edifici Fruitctr, Parc Agrobiotech Lleida,Parc Gardeny, Lleida 25003, Spain - Author
Univ Barcelona, Dept Evolutionary Biol Ecol & Environm Sci, Diagonal 643, 08017 Barcelona, Spain - Author
Univ Bologna, Dept Agr & Food Sci DISTAL, I-40126 Bologna, Italy - Author
Univ Padua, Dept Agron Food Nat resources Anim & Environm DAFN, Agripolis, Viale Univ 16, I-35020 Legnaro, PD, Italy - Author
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Abstract

Background Flower load in peach is an important determinant of final fruit quality and is subjected to cost-effective agronomical practices, such as the thinning, to finely balance the sink-source relationships within the tree and drive the optimal amount of assimilates to the fruits. Floral transition in peach buds occurs as a result of the integration of specific environmental signals, such as light and temperature, into the endogenous pathways that induce the meristem to pass from vegetative to reproductive growth. The cross talk and integration of the different players, such as the genes and the hormones, are still partially unknown. In the present research, transcriptomics and hormone profiling were applied on bud samples at different developmental stages. A gibberellin treatment was used as a tool to identify the different phases of floral transition and characterize the bud sensitivity to gibberellins in terms of inhibition of floral transition. Results Treatments with gibberellins showed different efficacies and pointed out a timeframe of maximum inhibition of floral transition in peach buds. Contextually, APETALA1 gene expression was shown to be a reliable marker of gibberellin efficacy in controlling this process. RNA-Seq transcriptomic analyses allowed to identify specific genes dealing with ROS, cell cycle, T6P, floral induction control and other processes, which are correlated with the bud sensitivity to gibberellins and possibly involved in bud development during its transition to the reproductive stage. Transcriptomic data integrated with the quantification of the main bioactive hormones in the bud allowed to identify the main hormonal regulators of floral transition in peach, with a pivotal role played by endogenous gibberellins and cytokinins. Conclusions The peach bud undergoes different levels of receptivity to gibberellin inhibition. The stage with maximum responsiveness corresponded to a transcriptional and hormonal crossroad, involving both flowering inhibitors and inductors. Endogenous gibberellin levels increased only at the latest developmental stage, when floral transition was already partially achieved, and the bud was less sensitive to exogenous treatments. A physiological model summarizes the main findings and suggests new research ideas to improve our knowledge about floral transition in peach.

Keywords
AppleArabidopsisDormancyExpression analysisFloral transitionFlower formationGene expressionGenesGibberellinInductioInitiationLocus-t-likePeach budsSweet cherryThinning

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal Bmc Plant Biology due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency WoS (JCR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2024 there are still no calculated indicators, but in 2023, it was in position 41/265, thus managing to position itself as a Q1 (Primer Cuartil), in the category Plant Sciences.

Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2025-05-13:

  • The use, from an academic perspective evidenced by the Altmetric agency indicator referring to aggregations made by the personal bibliographic manager Mendeley, gives us a total of: 5.
  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 5 (PlumX).

With a more dissemination-oriented intent and targeting more general audiences, we can observe other more global scores such as:

  • The Total Score from Altmetric: 0.5.
  • The number of mentions on the social network X (formerly Twitter): 1 (Altmetric).

It is essential to present evidence supporting full alignment with institutional principles and guidelines on Open Science and the Conservation and Dissemination of Intellectual Heritage. A clear example of this is:

  • The work has been submitted to a journal whose editorial policy allows open Open Access publication.
Leadership analysis of institutional authors

This work has been carried out with international collaboration, specifically with researchers from: Italy.