Physiological and transcriptomic profiles reveal key regulatory pathways involved in cold resistance in sunflower seedlings

• Published in: Genomics (San Diego, Calif.) Calif.), 2024-09, Vol.116 (5), p.110926, Article 110926
• Main Authors: Song, Huifang, Wang, Mingyang, Shen, Jie, Wang, Xi, Qin, Cheng, Wei, Peipei, Niu, Yaojun, Ren, Jiahong, Pan, Xiaoxue, Liu, Ake
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: antioxidant activity; antioxidants; ascorbic acid; biosynthesis; cold; Cold stress; Cold Temperature; Cold-Shock Response; dehydroascorbic acid; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; genomics; Helianthus - genetics; Helianthus - metabolism; Helianthus annuus; malondialdehyde; Physiological index; plant growth; Plant Proteins - genetics; Plant Proteins - metabolism; Reactive Oxygen Species - metabolism; secondary metabolites; Seedlings - genetics; Seedlings - metabolism; starch; sucrose; Sunflower; Transcription factor; Transcription Factors - genetics; Transcription Factors - metabolism; Transcriptome; Transcriptomics
• ISSN: 0888-7543; 1089-8646; 1089-8646
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ygeno.2024.110926

During sunflower growth, cold waves often occur and impede plant growth. Therefore, it is crucial to study the underlying mechanism of cold resistance in sunflowers. In this study, physiological analysis revealed that as cold stress increased, the levels of ROS, malondialdehyde, ascorbic acid, and dehydroascorbic acid and the activities of antioxidant enzymes increased. Transcriptomics further identified 10,903 DEGs between any two treatments. Clustering analysis demonstrated that the expression of MYB44a, MYB44b, MYB12, bZIP2 and bZIP4 continuously upregulated under cold stress. Cold stress can induce ROS accumulation, which interacts with hormone signals to activate cold-responsive transcription factors regulating target genes involved in antioxidant defense, secondary metabolite biosynthesis, starch and sucrose metabolism enhancement for improved cold resistance in sunflowers. Additionally, the response of sunflowers to cold stress may be independent of the CBF pathway. These findings enhance our understanding of cold stress resistance in sunflowers and provide a foundation for genetic breeding. •Cold stress can cause ROS accumulation and activate antioxidant defense in sunflower.•Biosynthesis of secondary metabolites and plant hormone signal transduction were highly related to cold resistance.•Four TFs and four PKs may be pivotal genes involved in sunflower cold resistance.•Sunflower seedlings may be independent of CBF pathway in response to cold stress.