Transcriptome analysis reveals heat stress-responsive genes in Octoploid strawberry seedlings and expression pattern analysis of FaHSF gene Family under heat stress

Extreme high temperatures severely affect the cultivation of octoploid strawberry seedlings. However, the molecular mechanisms of heat stress response in strawberry seedlings remain unclear. In this study, strawberry seedlings exposed to normal (25Degree Celsius) or elevated temperatures (40Degree Celsius for 6h and 24h) were used for transcriptomic analysis. A total of 11,526 heat stress-responsive genes were identified. Multiple metabolic pathways associated with heat stress were uncovered by gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses. 66 FaHSF genes were identified in octoploid strawberries, among which FaHSFA2/A3/A7/B1/B2 were significantly up-regulated under heat stress according to transcriptomic analysis, and were further validated by RT-qPCR assay, confirming the reliability of the transcriptome data generated in this study. Collectively, these results facilitate the identification of key heat stress resistance genes in octoploid strawberry and offer valuable insights into the mechanisms of heat tolerance, providing candidate targets for the breeding of heat-resistant varieties.