J Integr Plant Biol. ›› 2024, Vol. 66 ›› Issue (11): 2470-2489.DOI: 10.1111/jipb.13761  cstr: 32098.14.jipb.13761

Special Issue: Fruit development

• Molecular Physiology • Previous Articles     Next Articles

A PpEIL2/3–PpNAC1–PpWRKY14 module regulates fruit ripening by modulating ethylene production in peach

Yudi Liu1,2,3, Wen Xiao1,4, Liao Liao1,2, Beibei Zheng1,2, Yunpeng Cao1,2, Yun Zhao1,2, Ruo‐Xi Zhang1,2* and Yuepeng Han1,2,5*   

  1. 1. State Key Laboratory of Plant Diversity and Specialty Crops, Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430074, China
    2. Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, Wuhan 430070, China
    3. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
    4. State Key Laboratory of Hybrid Rice, Department of Plant Sciences, College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
    5. Sino‐African Joint Research Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430074, China
    *Correspondences: Yuepeng Han (yphan@wbgcas.cn); Ruo‐Xi Zhang (zhangruoxi@wbgcas.cn, Dr. Zhang is fully responsible for the distributions of all materials associated with this article)
  • Received:2024-06-28 Accepted:2024-07-24 Online:2024-08-26 Published:2024-11-01
  • Supported by:
    This project was supported by funds received from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (U23A20206, 32102363, and 32272687), the Key Special Project of Intergovernmental International Cooperation of the National Key R&D Program of China (2023YFE0125100), the China Agriculture Research System (CARS‐30), and Hubei Hongshan Laboratory (2021hszd017).

Abstract: WRKY transcription factors play key roles in plant resistance to various stresses, but their roles in fruit ripening remain largely unknown. Here, we report a WRKY gene PpWRKY14 involved in the regulation of fruit ripening in peach. The expression of PpWRKY14 showed an increasing trend throughout fruit development. PpWRKY14 was a target gene of PpNAC1, a master regulator of peach fruit ripening. PpWRKY14 could directly bind to the promoters of PpACS1 and PpACO1 to induce their expression, and this induction was greatly enhanced when PpWRKY14 formed a dimer with PpNAC1. However, the transcription of PpNAC1 could be directly suppressed by two EIN3/EIL1 genes, PpEIL2 and PpEIL3. The PpEIL2/3 genes were highly expressed at the early stages of fruit development, but their expression was programmed to decrease significantly during the ripening stage, thus derepressing the expression of PpNAC1. These results suggested a PpEIL2/3–PpNAC1–PpWRKY14 module that regulates fruit ripening by modulating ethylene production in peach. Our results provided an insight into the regulatory roles of EIN3/EIL1 and WRKY genes in fruit ripening.

Key words: EIL, ethylene, NAC1, Prunus persica, ripening, WRKY

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