Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
JOURNAL OF PLANT GROWTH REGULATION, 2025 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
Strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa) production is highly sensitive to heat stress, with numerous studies projecting declines in fruit yield and quality due to global warming. Developing heat-tolerant cultivars is critical for ensuring sustainable strawberry production. Such breeding efforts necessitate identifying heat-tolerant genotypes and elucidating the genetic and molecular mechanisms underlying their tolerance. In this study, we selected two strawberry cultivars-Portola (heat-tolerant) and Fronteras (heat-sensitive). Both cultivars were subjected to heat stress at 40 degrees C, and their transcriptomic profiles were compared to control conditions at 25 degrees C. Transcriptomic analysis revealed 17,199 differentially expressed mRNAs (DE-mRNAs) and 893 differentially expressed long noncoding (DE-lncRNAs in heat-tolerant Portola, while heat-sensitive Fronteras exhibited 8,197 DE-mRNAs and 392 DE-lncRNAs. KEGG enrichment analysis revealed that the DEGs-mRNAs and DE-lncRNAs) were significantly enriched to the signaling pathway (plant), carbon fixation in photosynthetic organisms, photosynthesis, MAPK signaling pathway, plant hormone signal transduction, ABC transporters, and Glycophospholipid metabolism. Photosynthesis-related genes, including Sucrose Synthase, Glucan Endo-1,3-beta-Glucosidase, and UDP-Glucuronosyltransferase, were consistently downregulated in both cultivars under heat stress. Conversely, genes encoding heat shock proteins and antioxidants, such as Aconitate Hydratase 3, were strongly upregulated in both genotypes. The primary distinction between the cultivars was observed in genes involved in cell wall remodeling and wax/cuticle biosynthesis. In particular DE-mRNAs associated with pectin-based cell wall remodeling, such as Rhamnogalacturonan I, were upregulated exclusively in Portola, correlating with its heat tolerance. In contrast, GDSL Esterase/Lipase genes, which are involved in wax and cuticle synthesis, were significantly downregulated only in Fronteras, implicating their role in heat sensitivity. Additionally, we identified regulatory lncRNAs associated with these differentially expressed genes. These transcriptomic insights provide valuable candidate genes and molecular markers for marker-assisted selection and genetic engineering, paving the way for the development of heat-resilient strawberry cultivars.