Abstract
Cold stress, a major environmental factor, has an important impact on the production of landscape plants and crop yield, and its stress and resistance mechanisms have always been hot research issues. Oreorchis patens (Lindl.) Lindl., an important germplasm resource, has strong frost resistance and can resist low temperatures of -40 °C. However, the mechanism by which O. patens responds to cold stress remains poorly understood. Here, we examined the adaptation to the low-temperature environment of O. patens by changing the leaf tissue structure, while the synergistic effect of osmotic regulation, reactive oxygen scavenging and protein improved the resistance to cold stress. In addition, analysis of the photosynthetic system showed that cold stress changes the photosynthetic capacity of O. patens leaves to affect cold resistance. Analysis by nonparametric transcriptome sequencing revealed 2402 genes that were differentially expressed, most of which were related to resistance. Simultaneously, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) analysis obtained results consistent with the transcriptome. These results indicated that O. patens could alter leaf structure and physiological and biochemical metabolic processes by initiating resistance-related molecular regulatory networks to improve the ability to resist cold stress. This study was the first to discuss the physiological, biochemical and molecular regulatory mechanisms of O. patens resistance to cold stress, which laid a foundation for revealing the biological and molecular mechanisms of overwintering of O. patens and breeding cold-resistant horticultural crops in northern China.
Footnotes
↵# Lan Yu and Yufeng Xu are co-first authors.
Lan Yu: College of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang 110866, China. Adress: Shenyang Agricultural University, No. 120, Dongling Road, Shenhe District, Shenyang City, Liaoning Province. Email: yulanscience{at}163.com
Yufeng Xu: Liaoning Panjin Wetland Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, Shenyang, China, 110866
Meini Shao: College of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang 110866, China; Liaoning Panjin Wetland Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, Shenyang, China, 110866
Qing Miao: College of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang 110866, China; Liaoning Key Laboratory of Biological Invasions and Global Changes, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang, China
Xuhui Chen: College of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang 110866, China
Huixia Yang: Liaoning Institute of Forest Management, Dandong 118003, China
Na Cui: College of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang 110866, China
Bo Qu: College of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang 110866, China