Yan Chen , Jialing Liang , Zhenshan Liu , Gang Wang , Shanbo Chen , Shijing Feng , Anzhi Wei
{"title":"综合转录组学和植物激素在发育时间点上的见解来破译花椒的花性别决定","authors":"Yan Chen , Jialing Liang , Zhenshan Liu , Gang Wang , Shanbo Chen , Shijing Feng , Anzhi Wei","doi":"10.1016/j.scienta.2025.114415","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Floral sex differentiation is a pivotal biological process with implications for species evolution and biodiversity. <em>Zanthoxylum armatum</em>, a economically important pseudo-dioecious species, exhibits remarkable sexual plasticity, including a rare female-to-male sex transition, yet the underlying regulatory mechanisms remain poorly understood. To decipher the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon, we conducted a high-resolution temporal analysis integrating transcriptomics and phytohormone profiling across seven critical floral developmental stages. Our results revealed that sexual fate is governed by a dynamic hormonal antagonism: male flower development is promoted by a surge of bioactive cytokinins (e.g., tZR, cZR) and gibberellins (e.g., GA1, GA9), while female fate is associated with auxin conjugation (e.g., IAA-Asp) and cytokinin inactivation. Concurrent transcriptomic analyses identified key transcription factors—including MADS-box, AP2/ERF, WRKY, and GRF families—that are differentially expressed between sexes and orchestrate organ identity and development. Furthermore, weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) linked specific hormonal signatures to distinct genetic modules, and alternative splicing analysis uncovered post-transcriptional regulation of genes critical for meiosis and pollen function. Additionally, alternative splicing analysis uncovered a complex network of splicing events that contribute to the regulation of gene expression during flower development. This study provides a comprehensive regulatory framework for floral sex determination in Z. armatum, highlighting the intricate interplay between phytohormones and transcriptional networks. Our findings offer foundational insights into the mechanisms of sex determination in plants and pave the way for manipulating sexual expression to enhance yield stability in horticultural crops.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21679,"journal":{"name":"Scientia Horticulturae","volume":"351 ","pages":"Article 114415"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2000,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":"{\"title\":\"Integrated transcriptomic and phytohormonal insights across developmental time points to decipher floral sex determination in Zanthoxylum armatum\",\"authors\":\"Yan Chen , Jialing Liang , Zhenshan Liu , Gang Wang , Shanbo Chen , Shijing Feng , Anzhi Wei\",\"doi\":\"10.1016/j.scienta.2025.114415\",\"DOIUrl\":null,\"url\":null,\"abstract\":\"<div><div>Floral sex differentiation is a pivotal biological process with implications for species evolution and biodiversity. <em>Zanthoxylum armatum</em>, a economically important pseudo-dioecious species, exhibits remarkable sexual plasticity, including a rare female-to-male sex transition, yet the underlying regulatory mechanisms remain poorly understood. To decipher the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon, we conducted a high-resolution temporal analysis integrating transcriptomics and phytohormone profiling across seven critical floral developmental stages. Our results revealed that sexual fate is governed by a dynamic hormonal antagonism: male flower development is promoted by a surge of bioactive cytokinins (e.g., tZR, cZR) and gibberellins (e.g., GA1, GA9), while female fate is associated with auxin conjugation (e.g., IAA-Asp) and cytokinin inactivation. Concurrent transcriptomic analyses identified key transcription factors—including MADS-box, AP2/ERF, WRKY, and GRF families—that are differentially expressed between sexes and orchestrate organ identity and development. Furthermore, weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) linked specific hormonal signatures to distinct genetic modules, and alternative splicing analysis uncovered post-transcriptional regulation of genes critical for meiosis and pollen function. Additionally, alternative splicing analysis uncovered a complex network of splicing events that contribute to the regulation of gene expression during flower development. This study provides a comprehensive regulatory framework for floral sex determination in Z. armatum, highlighting the intricate interplay between phytohormones and transcriptional networks. Our findings offer foundational insights into the mechanisms of sex determination in plants and pave the way for manipulating sexual expression to enhance yield stability in horticultural crops.</div></div>\",\"PeriodicalId\":21679,\"journal\":{\"name\":\"Scientia Horticulturae\",\"volume\":\"351 \",\"pages\":\"Article 114415\"},\"PeriodicalIF\":4.2000,\"publicationDate\":\"2025-09-01\",\"publicationTypes\":\"Journal Article\",\"fieldsOfStudy\":null,\"isOpenAccess\":false,\"openAccessPdf\":\"\",\"citationCount\":\"0\",\"resultStr\":null,\"platform\":\"Semanticscholar\",\"paperid\":null,\"PeriodicalName\":\"Scientia Horticulturae\",\"FirstCategoryId\":\"97\",\"ListUrlMain\":\"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304423825004637\",\"RegionNum\":2,\"RegionCategory\":\"农林科学\",\"ArticlePicture\":[],\"TitleCN\":null,\"AbstractTextCN\":null,\"PMCID\":null,\"EPubDate\":\"\",\"PubModel\":\"\",\"JCR\":\"Q1\",\"JCRName\":\"HORTICULTURE\",\"Score\":null,\"Total\":0}","platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Scientia Horticulturae","FirstCategoryId":"97","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304423825004637","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"HORTICULTURE","Score":null,"Total":0}
Integrated transcriptomic and phytohormonal insights across developmental time points to decipher floral sex determination in Zanthoxylum armatum
Floral sex differentiation is a pivotal biological process with implications for species evolution and biodiversity. Zanthoxylum armatum, a economically important pseudo-dioecious species, exhibits remarkable sexual plasticity, including a rare female-to-male sex transition, yet the underlying regulatory mechanisms remain poorly understood. To decipher the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon, we conducted a high-resolution temporal analysis integrating transcriptomics and phytohormone profiling across seven critical floral developmental stages. Our results revealed that sexual fate is governed by a dynamic hormonal antagonism: male flower development is promoted by a surge of bioactive cytokinins (e.g., tZR, cZR) and gibberellins (e.g., GA1, GA9), while female fate is associated with auxin conjugation (e.g., IAA-Asp) and cytokinin inactivation. Concurrent transcriptomic analyses identified key transcription factors—including MADS-box, AP2/ERF, WRKY, and GRF families—that are differentially expressed between sexes and orchestrate organ identity and development. Furthermore, weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) linked specific hormonal signatures to distinct genetic modules, and alternative splicing analysis uncovered post-transcriptional regulation of genes critical for meiosis and pollen function. Additionally, alternative splicing analysis uncovered a complex network of splicing events that contribute to the regulation of gene expression during flower development. This study provides a comprehensive regulatory framework for floral sex determination in Z. armatum, highlighting the intricate interplay between phytohormones and transcriptional networks. Our findings offer foundational insights into the mechanisms of sex determination in plants and pave the way for manipulating sexual expression to enhance yield stability in horticultural crops.
期刊介绍:
Scientia Horticulturae is an international journal publishing research related to horticultural crops. Articles in the journal deal with open or protected production of vegetables, fruits, edible fungi and ornamentals under temperate, subtropical and tropical conditions. Papers in related areas (biochemistry, micropropagation, soil science, plant breeding, plant physiology, phytopathology, etc.) are considered, if they contain information of direct significance to horticulture. Papers on the technical aspects of horticulture (engineering, crop processing, storage, transport etc.) are accepted for publication only if they relate directly to the living product. In the case of plantation crops, those yielding a product that may be used fresh (e.g. tropical vegetables, citrus, bananas, and other fruits) will be considered, while those papers describing the processing of the product (e.g. rubber, tobacco, and quinine) will not. The scope of the journal includes all horticultural crops but does not include speciality crops such as, medicinal crops or forestry crops, such as bamboo. Basic molecular studies without any direct application in horticulture will not be considered for this journal.