F. Gevaudant et al., Differential expression of four members of the H+-ATPase gene family during dormancy of vegetative buds of peach trees, PLANTA, 212(4), 2001, pp. 619-626
Vegetative-bud dormancy in peach (Prunus persica L. Batsch) trees is known
to be correlated, at least partially, with properties of the underlying bud
tissues during winter. Variations in the activity and amount of plasma-mem
brane H+-ATPase were observed. A full-length cDNA, PPA2 (Prunus persica H+-
ATPase 2) and three partial cDNAs (PPA1, PPA3 and PPA4) for the plasma-mem
brane H+-ATPase from peach tries were isolated by reverse transcription (RT
)coupled rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) polymerase chain reaction
(PCR). The accumulation of plasma membrane H+-ATPase transcripts was then s
tudied in vegetative buds during dormancy and breaking of dormancy. Competi
tive RT-PCR analysis revealed that, during dormancy, the plasma membrane H-ATPase transcripts were higher in the tissues underlying the buds than in
the buds themselves. After dormancy release, the level of PPA1, 2, 3 mRNA i
ncreased, whereas the level of PPA4 decreased in the buds. When trees were
kept in a greenhouse (i.e. sheltered from chilling), no accumulation of PPA
mRNA could be detected. These results suggest that there is a differential
accumulation of H+-ATPase mRNA between the bud and the underlying bud tiss
ues during dormancy, and that chilling could act as a decisive factor.