Integrated of transcriptome and plant growth substance profiles to reveal the floral sex differentiation in Zanthoxylum armatum DC.

Zanthoxylum armatum is a prominent plant for food industries. However, its male flowers often occurred in gynogenesis plants, the potential mechanism remains poorly understood. Herein, a total of 26 floral sex differentiation stages were observed to select four vital periods to reveal key factors using RNA-seq, phytohormones and carbohydrates investigation. Male flower was significantly associated with cytokinin and sucrose signals, whereas female flower was initiated by SA, GA1, and ABA pathways. The floral organ identity genes were attributed to ABCDE model. Eleven ZaAP3/PI and four ZaSTK/SHP were exclusively up-regulated in male and female floral development, respectively. 14 DEGs were obtained to regulate the transition from vegetative to reproductive growth. Finally, 21 crucial factors were identified in co-expression network from a total of 83 important members. This study provided new insights to explore the regulatory mechanism of floral sex differentiation, which would be benefited to cultivate high-yield varieties in Z. armatum. a total of 26 floral sex differentiation stages were observed to select four vital periods to reveal key factors using RNA-seq, phytohormones and carbohydrates investigation. Please note that total 26 floral samples were collected to carry out the morphological observation, and then four vital stages of male and female floral differentiation were conduct RNA-seq with three replicates. So there are 24 transcriptomic profiles.