Integrative Analysis of the Methylome, Transcriptome, and Proteome Reveals a New Mechanism of Rapeseed Under Freezing Stress

Winter rapeseed is susceptible to freezing stress during winter, making it difficult to overwinter safely and resulting in a reduction of yield and quality. DNA methylation, the main epigenetic modification, can regulate plant responses to various stresses. However, the regulatory mechanism of DNA m...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Guoqiang Zheng, Zigang Liu, Jinxiong Wang, Jiaping Wei, Xiaoyun Dong, Hui Li, Ying Wang, Haiyang Tian, Zefeng Wu, Junmei Cui
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-03-01
Series:Agronomy
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/15/3/739
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850205514066034688
author Guoqiang Zheng
Zigang Liu
Jinxiong Wang
Jiaping Wei
Xiaoyun Dong
Hui Li
Ying Wang
Haiyang Tian
Zefeng Wu
Junmei Cui
author_facet Guoqiang Zheng
Zigang Liu
Jinxiong Wang
Jiaping Wei
Xiaoyun Dong
Hui Li
Ying Wang
Haiyang Tian
Zefeng Wu
Junmei Cui
author_sort Guoqiang Zheng
collection DOAJ
description Winter rapeseed is susceptible to freezing stress during winter, making it difficult to overwinter safely and resulting in a reduction of yield and quality. DNA methylation, the main epigenetic modification, can regulate plant responses to various stresses. However, the regulatory mechanism of DNA methylation in response to freezing stress in winter rapeseed remains unclear. This study investigates how DNA methylation regulates gene expression and protein abundance in response to freezing stress, revealing key regulatory pathways involved in rapeseed cold tolerance. A total of 6776 unique differentially methylated genes (DMGs), 4285 unique differentially expressed genes (DEGs), and 269 unique differentially abundant proteins (DAPs) were identified between the two cultivars under T1 and T2 freezing stress. Function enrichment analysis revealed that these genes were involved in signal transduction, biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acids, sugar metabolism, peroxidase, peroxisome, photosynthesis, and additional pathways. An integrative analysis of methylome, transcriptome, and proteome showed that only nine genes were shared among all three datasets, and they were closely related to cold tolerance metabolism in rapeseed. The findings provide molecular insights into rapeseed freezing tolerance, which can be applied in breeding programs to enhance cold resistance in oilseed crops.
format Article
id doaj-art-f3783b485f4e4e219e784b7efa219eef
institution OA Journals
issn 2073-4395
language English
publishDate 2025-03-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Agronomy
spelling doaj-art-f3783b485f4e4e219e784b7efa219eef2025-08-20T02:11:04ZengMDPI AGAgronomy2073-43952025-03-0115373910.3390/agronomy15030739Integrative Analysis of the Methylome, Transcriptome, and Proteome Reveals a New Mechanism of Rapeseed Under Freezing StressGuoqiang Zheng0Zigang Liu1Jinxiong Wang2Jiaping Wei3Xiaoyun Dong4Hui Li5Ying Wang6Haiyang Tian7Zefeng Wu8Junmei Cui9State Key Laboratory of Aridland Crop Science, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Aridland Crop Science, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, ChinaAgricultural Research Institute, Tibet Academy of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Sciences, Lhasa 850030, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Aridland Crop Science, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Aridland Crop Science, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Aridland Crop Science, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Aridland Crop Science, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Aridland Crop Science, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Aridland Crop Science, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Aridland Crop Science, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, ChinaWinter rapeseed is susceptible to freezing stress during winter, making it difficult to overwinter safely and resulting in a reduction of yield and quality. DNA methylation, the main epigenetic modification, can regulate plant responses to various stresses. However, the regulatory mechanism of DNA methylation in response to freezing stress in winter rapeseed remains unclear. This study investigates how DNA methylation regulates gene expression and protein abundance in response to freezing stress, revealing key regulatory pathways involved in rapeseed cold tolerance. A total of 6776 unique differentially methylated genes (DMGs), 4285 unique differentially expressed genes (DEGs), and 269 unique differentially abundant proteins (DAPs) were identified between the two cultivars under T1 and T2 freezing stress. Function enrichment analysis revealed that these genes were involved in signal transduction, biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acids, sugar metabolism, peroxidase, peroxisome, photosynthesis, and additional pathways. An integrative analysis of methylome, transcriptome, and proteome showed that only nine genes were shared among all three datasets, and they were closely related to cold tolerance metabolism in rapeseed. The findings provide molecular insights into rapeseed freezing tolerance, which can be applied in breeding programs to enhance cold resistance in oilseed crops.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/15/3/739winter rapeseedfreezing stressDNA methylationtranscriptomeproteome
spellingShingle Guoqiang Zheng
Zigang Liu
Jinxiong Wang
Jiaping Wei
Xiaoyun Dong
Hui Li
Ying Wang
Haiyang Tian
Zefeng Wu
Junmei Cui
Integrative Analysis of the Methylome, Transcriptome, and Proteome Reveals a New Mechanism of Rapeseed Under Freezing Stress
Agronomy
winter rapeseed
freezing stress
DNA methylation
transcriptome
proteome
title Integrative Analysis of the Methylome, Transcriptome, and Proteome Reveals a New Mechanism of Rapeseed Under Freezing Stress
title_full Integrative Analysis of the Methylome, Transcriptome, and Proteome Reveals a New Mechanism of Rapeseed Under Freezing Stress
title_fullStr Integrative Analysis of the Methylome, Transcriptome, and Proteome Reveals a New Mechanism of Rapeseed Under Freezing Stress
title_full_unstemmed Integrative Analysis of the Methylome, Transcriptome, and Proteome Reveals a New Mechanism of Rapeseed Under Freezing Stress
title_short Integrative Analysis of the Methylome, Transcriptome, and Proteome Reveals a New Mechanism of Rapeseed Under Freezing Stress
title_sort integrative analysis of the methylome transcriptome and proteome reveals a new mechanism of rapeseed under freezing stress
topic winter rapeseed
freezing stress
DNA methylation
transcriptome
proteome
url https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/15/3/739
work_keys_str_mv AT guoqiangzheng integrativeanalysisofthemethylometranscriptomeandproteomerevealsanewmechanismofrapeseedunderfreezingstress
AT zigangliu integrativeanalysisofthemethylometranscriptomeandproteomerevealsanewmechanismofrapeseedunderfreezingstress
AT jinxiongwang integrativeanalysisofthemethylometranscriptomeandproteomerevealsanewmechanismofrapeseedunderfreezingstress
AT jiapingwei integrativeanalysisofthemethylometranscriptomeandproteomerevealsanewmechanismofrapeseedunderfreezingstress
AT xiaoyundong integrativeanalysisofthemethylometranscriptomeandproteomerevealsanewmechanismofrapeseedunderfreezingstress
AT huili integrativeanalysisofthemethylometranscriptomeandproteomerevealsanewmechanismofrapeseedunderfreezingstress
AT yingwang integrativeanalysisofthemethylometranscriptomeandproteomerevealsanewmechanismofrapeseedunderfreezingstress
AT haiyangtian integrativeanalysisofthemethylometranscriptomeandproteomerevealsanewmechanismofrapeseedunderfreezingstress
AT zefengwu integrativeanalysisofthemethylometranscriptomeandproteomerevealsanewmechanismofrapeseedunderfreezingstress
AT junmeicui integrativeanalysisofthemethylometranscriptomeandproteomerevealsanewmechanismofrapeseedunderfreezingstress