Integration of Metabolome and Transcriptome Reveals the Major Metabolic Pathways and Potential Biomarkers in Response to Freeze-Stress Regulation in Apple (Malus domestica)

Freezing stress is the main factor affecting normal growth and distribution of plants. The safe overwintering a perennial deciduous plant crucial link to ensuring its survival yield. However, little known about molecular mechanism gene regulation metabolites as related freeze-tolerance. In order enhance our comprehension freeze-tolerance expression in dormant apple trees, we examined metabolic transcriptomic differences between ‘Ralls’ ‘Fuji’, two varieties with varying degrees resistance freezing. results freezing treatment showed that had stronger than ‘Fuji’. We identified 302, 334, 267 up-regulated differentially accumulated (DAMs) 408, 387, 497 down-regulated DAMs ‘Fuji’ under −10, −15, −20 °C treatment, respectively. A total 359 shared were obtained upward trend modules, which 62 associated 89 pathways. number genes accounted for 50.2%, 45.6%, 43.2% expressed (DEGs), respectively, at °C. Through combined transcriptome metabolome analysis, 12 pathways included 16 65 DEGs. Meanwhile, found 20 DEGs phenylpropanoid biosynthesis pathway pathways, involving metabolism p-Coumaroyl-CoA, 7, 4′-Dihydroxyflavone, scolymoside. These discoveries advance underlying provide genetic material breeding cultivars enhanced