ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Biotechnology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpls.2025.1607254
Genome-wide Analysis of AP2/ERF Family in Akebia trifoliata and Characterization of an AtrERF001 Gene Regulate Fruit Ripening
Provisionally accepted
- 1Jingdezhen University, Jingdezhen, Jiangxi, China
- 2China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, Beijing Municipality, China
- 3Institute of Bast Fiber Crops and Center for Southern Economic Crops, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changsha, China
- 4Shangrao Normal University, Shangrao, Jiangxi Province, China
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Ethylene response factors (ERF) were important for plant growth, hormone signaling, fruit ripening and stress response. Despite the wide identification of ERF family members in various species, limited information is available regarding this family in Akebia trifoliata. Therefore, 131 APETALA2/ethylene response factor genes were identified from the A. trifoliata genome. Gene structures, motif compositions, tandem duplication events and promoter structure of ERF genes were characterized, providing insights into the molecular basis underlying the discrepant functions of ERF genes within each evolutionary branch. Expression patterns under ethylene and 1-MCP treatments of these ERF genes were further analyzed using real-time PCR (RT-qPCR), revealing that 9 key ERF genes are closely associated with fruit ripening. A co-expression regulatory network analysis indicated that AtrERF001 was one of the hub gene. AtrERF001 was found to localize in nucleus by subcellular localization analysis. Overexpression of AtrERF001 in Akebia trifoliata and tomato fruit resulted in early fruit ripening. The expression levels of AtrERF001, AtrACO and AtrPE in overexpression fruits were increased by about 30-fold, 5-fold and 1-fold, respectively, compared with the control, whereas silencing of AtrERF001 in A. trifoliata by virus induced gene silencing showed opposite trends.Moreover, RT-qPCR experiments showed that the expression of AtrERF001, AtrACO and AtrPE in AtrERF001 overexpression tomato fruits at red-ripe stage were significantly increased compared with the control fruits, indicating that AtrERF001 may play an important role in regulating fruit ripening.Our results provide new insights into the underlying regulatory mechanisms of the AP2/ERF family during fruit ripening.
Keywords: Akebia trifoliata, AP2/ERF family, expression profile, Fruit ripening, Transcriptional regulation
Received: 21 Apr 2025; Accepted: 05 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Niu, Li, Sun, Lin, Zhang, Yang, Tian and Luan. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: MB Luan, Institute of Bast Fiber Crops and Center for Southern Economic Crops, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changsha, China
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