Ethylene Biosynthesis Dynamics and Genome-Wide Characterization of the ACS and ACO Gene Families During Fruit Development in 'Kuerle Xiangli' (Pyrus sinkiangensis Yu).
- 1Department of Horticulture, College of Agriculture, Shihezi University, Shihezi 832003, China.
- 2Key Laboratory of Special Fruits & Vegetables Cultivation Physiology and Germplasm Resources Utilization of Xinjiang Production and Construction Group, Shihezi 832003, China.
- 3Workstation for Academician Li Tianlai, Shihezi University, Shihezi 832003, China.
Abstract
Background: Fruit ripening in 'Kuerle Xiangli' (Pyrus sinkiangensis Yu) is a complex physiological process orchestrated by ethylene; however, the molecular mechanisms governing ethylene biosynthesis during fruit development to ripening remain incompletely understood. Methods: In this study, we systematically characterized ethylene production, fruit quality parameters, and the ACS (1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid synthase) and ACO (ACC oxidase) gene families in 'Kuerle Xiangli' across nine developmental stages from 30 to 150 days after full bloom (DAFB). Results: Ethylene production remained suppressed during fruit growth and expansion but exhibited a massive climacteric burst at the ripening stage (150 DAFB). Soluble solids content peaked at 120 DAFB (16.2%), whereas fruit firmness declined significantly from 135 to 150 DAFB, indicating a temporal asynchrony between sugar accumulation and cell wall disassembly. A total of 12 PsinACS and 5 PsinACO genes were identified from the genome (Pyrus sinkiangensis Yu). Phylogenetic analysis classified the PsinACS proteins into four groups (I-IV) and the PsinACO proteins into two groups (B and C), with Group I ACS members clustering with well-characterized ripening-associated orthologs. Conserved motif and gene structure analyses revealed high conservation within each phylogenetic group. Gene duplication analysis indicated that most PsinACS and PsinACO genes originated from whole-genome duplication or segmental duplication events, with only a few arising from proximal or tandem duplications. Synteny analysis demonstrated strong evolutionary conservation across Rosaceae species, and Ka/Ks ratios (<1) indicated that both gene families have undergone strong purifying selection. Expression profiling by qRT-PCR revealed distinct patterns: PsinACS2, PsinACS3 and PsinACS4 were highly expressed in early fruitlets (30 DAFB), and eight ACS genes (PsinACS1, PsinACS5-9, PsinACS11-12) and PsinACO1 showed maximal expression at 150 DAFB, coinciding with the ethylene climacteric burst. Conclusions: Taken together, combined with phylogenetic tree analysis, indicates that PsinACS1 and PsinACO1 are crucial genes in ethylene biosynthesis that positively regulate fruit ripening. These results provide a comprehensive characterization of the ACS and ACO gene families in P. sinkiangensis and reveal a coordinated transcriptional network that governs ethylene biosynthesis during pear fruit ripening.
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BibTeX
@article{fan2026ethylene,
title = {{Ethylene Biosynthesis Dynamics and Genome-Wide Characterization of the ACS and ACO Gene Families During Fruit Development in 'Kuerle Xiangli' (Pyrus sinkiangensis Yu).}},
author = {Tingting Fan and Deen Zhang and Wenjie Li and Zhihua Guo and Xiaoyan Lu},
journal = {Biology},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/biology15191769},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42883442},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Ethylene Biosynthesis Dynamics and Genome-Wide Characterization of the ACS and ACO Gene Families During Fruit Development in 'Kuerle Xiangli' (Pyrus sinkiangensis Yu).
AU - Tingting Fan
AU - Deen Zhang
AU - Wenjie Li
AU - Zhihua Guo
AU - Xiaoyan Lu
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/04
JO - Biology
DO - 10.3390/biology15191769
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42883442
AB - Background: Fruit ripening in 'Kuerle Xiangli' (Pyrus sinkiangensis Yu) is a complex physiological process orchestrated by ethylene; however, the molecular mechanisms governing ethylene biosynthesis during fruit development to ripening remain incompletely understood. Methods: In this study, we systematically characterized ethylene production, fruit quality parameters, and the ACS (1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid synthase) and ACO (ACC oxidase) gene families in 'Kuerle Xiangli' across nine developmental stages from 30 to 150 days after full bloom (DAFB). Results: Ethylene production remained suppressed during fruit growth and expansion but exhibited a massive climacteric burst at the ripening stage (150 DAFB). Soluble solids content peaked at 120 DAFB (16.2%), whereas fruit firmness declined significantly from 135 to 150 DAFB, indicating a temporal asynchrony between sugar accumulation and cell wall disassembly. A total of 12 PsinACS and 5 PsinACO genes were identified from the genome (Pyrus sinkiangensis Yu). Phylogenetic analysis classified the PsinACS proteins into four groups (I-IV) and the PsinACO proteins into two groups (B and C), with Group I ACS members clustering with well-characterized ripening-associated orthologs. Conserved motif and gene structure analyses revealed high conservation within each phylogenetic group. Gene duplication analysis indicated that most PsinACS and PsinACO genes originated from whole-genome duplication or segmental duplication events, with only a few arising from proximal or tandem duplications. Synteny analysis demonstrated strong evolutionary conservation across Rosaceae species, and Ka/Ks ratios (<1) indicated that both gene families have undergone strong purifying selection. Expression profiling by qRT-PCR revealed distinct patterns: PsinACS2, PsinACS3 and PsinACS4 were highly expressed in early fruitlets (30 DAFB), and eight ACS genes (PsinACS1, PsinACS5-9, PsinACS11-12) and PsinACO1 showed maximal expression at 150 DAFB, coinciding with the ethylene climacteric burst. Conclusions: Taken together, combined with phylogenetic tree analysis, indicates that PsinACS1 and PsinACO1 are crucial genes in ethylene biosynthesis that positively regulate fruit ripening. These results provide a comprehensive characterization of the ACS and ACO gene families in P. sinkiangensis and reveal a coordinated transcriptional network that governs ethylene biosynthesis during pear fruit ripening.
SN - 2079-7737
ER -