Identification and screening of plant hormone-related genes associated with dormancy release in Prunus persica seeds...

Peach (Prunus persica) seeds exhibit low natural germination rates and prolonged germination periods due to deep dormancy, which severely limits seedling propagation efficiency and industrial scalability. In this study, four treatment groups were established: CK (water), T1 (gibberellin + sodium fluoride), T2 (sodium hypochlorite), and T3 (sodium fluoride), all combined with temperature regulation. Physiological measurements, transcriptomic analysis, and targeted metabolomic analysis were integrated to investigate the dynamic changes during seed dormancy release. Exogenous substance treatments significantly enhanced germination performance, accompanied by distinct fluctuations in endogenous hormone levels, including IAA, GA₃, ABA, and CTK. Analysis of the ABA/GA₃ ratio revealed that the 45th day of treatment is a critical regulatory node in the hormonal control of peach seed dormancy alleviation. Transcriptome profiling identified 11,807 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), which were significantly enriched in key pathways such as "plant hormone signal transduction", "sugar and sucrose metabolism", and "biosynthesis of secondary metabolites". Targeted metabolomics detected eight differential metabolites, primarily associated with "plant hormone signal transduction", "diterpenoid biosynthesis", and "biosynthesis of secondary metabolites". Integrated analysis demonstrated that exogenous treatments modulate the expression of core components in the abscisic acid signaling pathway (PP2C, PYR/PYL, and SnRK2) and the gibberellin signaling pathway (GID1), while also inducing significant transcriptional changes in auxin (AUX/IAA, ARF, and GH3), cytokinin (AHP), and ethylene (EIN3, ERF) signaling pathways. These findings provide a robust theoretical foundation for optimizing peach seedling production-particularly in shortening dormancy duration and improving germination uniformity-and offer valuable insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying seed dormancy regulation in woody perennial species.