Comparative transcriptomic analysis of two tree peony species (Paeonia sect. Moutan) provides insights into long floral longevity

Though floral longevity (FL) is among the most important trait of academic and commercial interests in flowering plants, only little is known about the molecular mechanisms that backs up the process in species of Tree Peony. In this study, the long FL JG (Paeonia sect. Moutan ‘Souvenir de Maxime Cornuand’) petals and the short FL LYH (Paeonia sect. Moutan ‘Luoyanghong’) petals were used for RNA seq uencing at three major developmental stages, as well as for observing petal anatomy at five select stages. DEGs could be seen enhanced in epidermal lignin and cell wall biosynthesis pathways offering to a thicker petal mesophyll, epidermis, and cuticle, as well as a greater number of vascular bundles in long flower JG. Further examination of the expression pattern of DEGs revealed that the genes whose expression was up-regulated in all stages gets primarily involved in lignin and cell wall synthesis. The results at large indicate that the expression of these differentially expressed genes can change the morphology of peony petals and enhance their water retention capacity maintaining petal turgor pressure effecting a prolonged longevity of peony flowers. It emerges that these findings could serve as a reference for future molecular breeding applications in tree peonies.