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Home > Archive>Volume 27, Issue 1, 2026 >223-239. DOI:10.13430/j.cnki.jpgr.20250429001 Online First
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The Effects of Plant Hormones on Lettuce Seed Germination and PG Gene Expression
DOI:
10.13430/j.cnki.jpgr.20250429001
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1.Agro-Biological Gene Research Center, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences/Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory for Crop Germplasm Resources Preservation and Utilization, Guangzhou 510640;2.Institute of Agricultural Economics and Information, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences/Key Laboratory of Urban Agriculture in South China, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Guangzhou 510640

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Foundation projects: National Natural Science Foundation of China (31601388); Guangdong Provincial Natural Science Foundation (2024A1515 012970); Guangzhou Municipal Science and Technology Project Key Research and Development Program (2023B03J1320)

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    Abstract:

    This study systematically elucidated the molecular mechanisms by which plant hormones regulate the polygalacturonase (PG) gene family during lettuce seed germination, through an integrated approach involving microscopic morphology, hormone profiling, enzyme activity assays, and transcriptome sequencing. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that the radicle penetrated the endosperm cap to form a tearing surface after 15 h of imbibition, with penetration completed by 24 h. Germination assay showed nearly 100% germination by 36 h. Treatment with 10 μmol/L gibberellin (GA?) and 1 mmol/L ethylene (ETH) shifted the peak germination probability forward to 18-18.5 h, accompanied by radicle thickening and increased root hair density. In contrast, treatments with 1 μmol/L abscisic acid (ABA), 25 μmol/L jasmonic acid (JA), and 10 μmol/L indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) delayed peak germination probability to 21.5 h, 27.5 h and 29 h, respectively, while also inhibiting radicle elongation. Analysis of endogenous hormones showed ABA, abscisic acid glucose ester (ABA-GE), JA, and salicylic acid (SA) levels progressively declined during germination, whereas IAA and 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) exhibited sustained increases. The superoxide anion (O2·-) production rate in imbibed seeds from the control group initially increased then declined. Treatments with GA3, SA, and ETH enhanced the O2·- generation rate, while treatments with ABA, IA, and JA had minimal effect. LsPG enzyme activity exhibited distinct dynamics across treatments: activity peaked at 30 h for water/ETH, at 36 h for GA3/ABA/IAA, and at 24 h for SA/JA. Notably, ETH, GA3, and SA treatments most significantly enhanced LsPG enzyme activity. Through genome-wide analysis, 54 LsPG genes were identified for the first time in lettuce, clustering into seven subfamilies and being unevenly distribution across nine chromosomes. Subcellular localization experiments confirmed that LsPG4 and LsPG38 proteins localize to the cell membrane. Conserved motif analysis revealed that Motif 3 was ubiquitously present, while Motif 2/4 were widely distributed. All LsPG genes contained 2 to 10 exons. Cis-acting element analysis revealed that LsPG1/7/24 were enriched in hormone-responsive elements, with ABA-responsive elements being the most abundant. qRT-PCR analysis revealed hormone-specific expression patterns of LsPG genes: GA3 significantly upregulated LsPG4/20/47/53 (4.5/3.2/3.3/3.1 fold); ETH specifically activated LsPG47 (3 fold); IAA induced a 7.3 fold increase in LsPG20 expression, JA induced LsPG2/13/22; SA suppressed LsPG19/20/24, with LsPG19 expression being inhibited by ABA/SA/GA3/IAA/ETH/JA. Overall, this study demonstrates that GA3/ETH promote endosperm cell wall degradation via LsPG activation to accelerate germination, whereas ABA and SA delay germination through LsPG inhibition. The hormone-PG gene interaction network model provides a theoretical basis for deciphering the mechanism of lettuce seed germination and molecular breeding.

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  • Received:April 29,2025
  • Revised:
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  • Online: January 05,2026
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