Transcriptome analysis reveals the mechanisms underlying petal growth during the flower opening process in Phalaenopsis orchids
Abstract Background Phalaenopsis orchids, belonging to the Orchidaceae family, one of the largest groups of angiosperms, possess significant commercial value due to their fascinating flowers. Petal size is a vital trait that directly determines flower size and shape of Phalaenopsis. However, the gen...
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BMC
2025-05-01
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| Series: | BMC Plant Biology |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-025-06713-5 |
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| author | Yunxiao Guan Qiaoyu Zhang Ting Zhang Minghe Li Ye Ai Junwen Zhai Siren Lan Zhong-Jian Liu Shasha Wu Donghui Peng |
| author_facet | Yunxiao Guan Qiaoyu Zhang Ting Zhang Minghe Li Ye Ai Junwen Zhai Siren Lan Zhong-Jian Liu Shasha Wu Donghui Peng |
| author_sort | Yunxiao Guan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Phalaenopsis orchids, belonging to the Orchidaceae family, one of the largest groups of angiosperms, possess significant commercial value due to their fascinating flowers. Petal size is a vital trait that directly determines flower size and shape of Phalaenopsis. However, the genetic and developmental regulation of petal size in Phalaenopsis remains unexplored. Results In this study, we tracked the petal growth pattern through five stages of flower opening, discovering that cell division stops at stage 2 and stages 3 to 5 are the critical periods of rapid petal expansion. RNA-seq was then conducted to further reveal the molecular mechanisms underlying petal size regulation. Gene ontology (GO) analysis indicated that the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) from the four comparable groups were both enriched in terms related to cell expansion. Endogenous hormone assays showed that auxin, cytokinin, and gibberellin were implicated in the petal growth of Phalaenopsis. Moreover, six auxin signaling pathway genes, 11 cell expansion-related genes, and 30 transcription factors (TFs) identified through trend analysis were abundantly expressed during the critical period of petal expansion, suggesting that they may influence petal size by regulating cell expansion. In contrast, 18 TFs exhibited the highest expression levels at the S1 stage, indicating their potential role in petal cell proliferation. Based on weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA), six hub genes (PaLOF2, PaSWEET11, PaVNI2, PaHDA3, PaPMEI3, PaXTH30) were screened from the green and yellow module which was highly associated with the petal size. Conclusion Our results lay a foundation for further exploration of the molecular mechanisms regulating petal size development and are significant for molecular breeding programs aimed at generating novel Phalaenopsis with desirable traits. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-da736e714db94c56bef453d573712a70 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1471-2229 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Plant Biology |
| spelling | doaj-art-da736e714db94c56bef453d573712a702025-08-20T02:33:31ZengBMCBMC Plant Biology1471-22292025-05-0125111710.1186/s12870-025-06713-5Transcriptome analysis reveals the mechanisms underlying petal growth during the flower opening process in Phalaenopsis orchidsYunxiao Guan0Qiaoyu Zhang1Ting Zhang2Minghe Li3Ye Ai4Junwen Zhai5Siren Lan6Zhong-Jian Liu7Shasha Wu8Donghui Peng9Key Laboratory of National Forestry and Grassland Administration for Orchid Conservation and Utilization, College of Landscape Architecture and Art, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry UniversityKey Laboratory of National Forestry and Grassland Administration for Orchid Conservation and Utilization, College of Landscape Architecture and Art, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry UniversityInstitute of Botany, Jiangsu Province and Chinese Academy of Sciences (Nanjing Botanical Garden Mem. Sun Yat-Sen)Key Laboratory of National Forestry and Grassland Administration for Orchid Conservation and Utilization, College of Landscape Architecture and Art, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry UniversityKey Laboratory of National Forestry and Grassland Administration for Orchid Conservation and Utilization, College of Landscape Architecture and Art, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry UniversityKey Laboratory of National Forestry and Grassland Administration for Orchid Conservation and Utilization, College of Landscape Architecture and Art, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry UniversityKey Laboratory of National Forestry and Grassland Administration for Orchid Conservation and Utilization, College of Landscape Architecture and Art, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry UniversityKey Laboratory of National Forestry and Grassland Administration for Orchid Conservation and Utilization, College of Landscape Architecture and Art, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry UniversityKey Laboratory of National Forestry and Grassland Administration for Orchid Conservation and Utilization, College of Landscape Architecture and Art, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry UniversityKey Laboratory of National Forestry and Grassland Administration for Orchid Conservation and Utilization, College of Landscape Architecture and Art, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry UniversityAbstract Background Phalaenopsis orchids, belonging to the Orchidaceae family, one of the largest groups of angiosperms, possess significant commercial value due to their fascinating flowers. Petal size is a vital trait that directly determines flower size and shape of Phalaenopsis. However, the genetic and developmental regulation of petal size in Phalaenopsis remains unexplored. Results In this study, we tracked the petal growth pattern through five stages of flower opening, discovering that cell division stops at stage 2 and stages 3 to 5 are the critical periods of rapid petal expansion. RNA-seq was then conducted to further reveal the molecular mechanisms underlying petal size regulation. Gene ontology (GO) analysis indicated that the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) from the four comparable groups were both enriched in terms related to cell expansion. Endogenous hormone assays showed that auxin, cytokinin, and gibberellin were implicated in the petal growth of Phalaenopsis. Moreover, six auxin signaling pathway genes, 11 cell expansion-related genes, and 30 transcription factors (TFs) identified through trend analysis were abundantly expressed during the critical period of petal expansion, suggesting that they may influence petal size by regulating cell expansion. In contrast, 18 TFs exhibited the highest expression levels at the S1 stage, indicating their potential role in petal cell proliferation. Based on weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA), six hub genes (PaLOF2, PaSWEET11, PaVNI2, PaHDA3, PaPMEI3, PaXTH30) were screened from the green and yellow module which was highly associated with the petal size. Conclusion Our results lay a foundation for further exploration of the molecular mechanisms regulating petal size development and are significant for molecular breeding programs aimed at generating novel Phalaenopsis with desirable traits.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-025-06713-5PhalaenopsisPetal growthRNA-seqCell divisionCell expansionDifferentially expressed genes |
| spellingShingle | Yunxiao Guan Qiaoyu Zhang Ting Zhang Minghe Li Ye Ai Junwen Zhai Siren Lan Zhong-Jian Liu Shasha Wu Donghui Peng Transcriptome analysis reveals the mechanisms underlying petal growth during the flower opening process in Phalaenopsis orchids BMC Plant Biology Phalaenopsis Petal growth RNA-seq Cell division Cell expansion Differentially expressed genes |
| title | Transcriptome analysis reveals the mechanisms underlying petal growth during the flower opening process in Phalaenopsis orchids |
| title_full | Transcriptome analysis reveals the mechanisms underlying petal growth during the flower opening process in Phalaenopsis orchids |
| title_fullStr | Transcriptome analysis reveals the mechanisms underlying petal growth during the flower opening process in Phalaenopsis orchids |
| title_full_unstemmed | Transcriptome analysis reveals the mechanisms underlying petal growth during the flower opening process in Phalaenopsis orchids |
| title_short | Transcriptome analysis reveals the mechanisms underlying petal growth during the flower opening process in Phalaenopsis orchids |
| title_sort | transcriptome analysis reveals the mechanisms underlying petal growth during the flower opening process in phalaenopsis orchids |
| topic | Phalaenopsis Petal growth RNA-seq Cell division Cell expansion Differentially expressed genes |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-025-06713-5 |
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