Transcriptome and digital gene expression analysis of herbaceous peony (Paeonia lactiflora Pall.) to screen thermo-tolerant related differently expressed genes

PlWRKY47 Coordinates With Cytosolic Glyceraldehyde-3-Phosphate Dehydrogenase 2 Gene to Improve Thermotolerance Through Inhibiting Reactive Oxygen Species Generation in Herbaceous Peony

Although WRKY transcription factors play crucial roles in plant responses to high-temperature stress, little is known about Group IIb WRKY family members. Here, we identified the WRKY-IIb protein PlWRKY47 from herbaceous peony (Paeonia lactiflora Pall.), which functioned as a nuclear-localized transcriptional activator. The expression level of PlWRKY47 was positively correlated with high-temperature tolerance. Silencing of PlWRKY47 in P. lactiflora resulted in the decreased tolerance to high-temperature stress by accumulating reactive oxygen species (ROS). Overexpression of PlWRKY47 improved plant high-temperature tolerance through decreasing ROS accumulation. Moreover, PlWRKY47 directly bound to the promoter of cytosolic glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase 2 (PlGAPC2) gene and activated its transcription. PlGAPC2 was also positively regulated high-temperature tolerance in P. lactiflora by increasing NAD+ content to inhibit ROS generation. Additionally, PlWRKY47 physically interacted with itself to form a homodimer, and PlWRKY47 could also interact with one Group IIb WRKY family member PlWRKY72 to form a heterodimer, they all promoted PlWRKY47 to bind to and activate PlGAPC2. These data support that the PlWRKY47-PlWRKY47 homodimer and PlWRKY72-PlWRKY47 heterodimer can directly activate PlGAPC2 expression to improve high-temperature tolerance by inhibiting ROS generation in P. lactiflora. These results will provide important insights into the plant high-temperature stress response by WRKY-IIb transcription factors.

PlPOD45 positively regulates high-temperature tolerance of herbaceous peony by scavenging reactive oxygen species

Herbaceous peony (Paeonia lactiflora Pall.) is a widely used famous traditional flower in China. It prefers cold and cool climate, but is not resistant to high temperature during summer in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. Previously, we found peroxidase (POD) is an important antioxidant enzyme that played an important role in high-temperature tolerance of P. lactiflora. The present study isolated the candidate gene PlPOD45 and verified its function in resisting high-temperature stress. And the results showed that PlPOD45 had an open reading frame of 978 bp that encoded 325 amino acids. Its protein was localized to the cell membrane and cytoplasm. High-temperature stress induced PlPOD45 expression. Heterologous overexpression of PlPOD45 improved plant tolerance to high-temperature stress, decreased reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation, relative electrical conductivity and malondialdehyde content, and increased the ratio of variable fluorescence to highest fluorescence and POD activity. Conversely, silencing PlPOD45 in P. lactiflora could decrease POD activity, ROS scavenging capability and cell membrane stability when these plants were exposed to high-temperature stress. These results suggest that PlPOD45 positively regulates high-temperature tolerance through ROS scavenging, which would provide a theoretical basis for improving high-temperature tolerance in P. lactiflora.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12298-024-01505-x.

Contents of paeoniflorin and albiflorin in two Korean landraces of Paeonia lactiflora and characterization of paeoniflorin biosynthesis genes in peony

BACKGROUND AND RESEARCH PURPOSE

Paeoniflorin and albiflorin are monoterpene glycosides that exhibit various medicinal properties in Paeonia species. This study explored the terpene biosynthesis pathway and analyzed the distribution of these compounds in different tissues of two Korean landraces of Paeonia lactiflora to gain insights into the biosynthesis of monoterpene glycosides in P. lactiflora and their potential applications.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Two Korean landraces, Hongcheon var. and Hwacheon var, of P. lactiflora were used for the analyses. Contents of the paeoniflorin and albiflorin were analyzed using HPLC. RNA was extracted, sequenced, and subjected to transcriptome analysis. Differential gene expression, KEGG, and GO analyses were performed. Paeoniflorin biosynthesis genes were isolated from the transcriptomes using the genes in Euphorbia maculata with the NBLAST program. Phylogenetic analysis of of 1-Deoxy-D-xylulose 5-phosphate synthase (DOXPS), geranyl pyrophosphate synthase (GPPS), and pinene synthase (PS) was carried out with ClustalW and MEGA v5.0.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Analysis of paeoniflorin and albiflorin content in different tissues of the two P. lactiflora landraces revealed significant variation. Transcriptome analysis yielded 36,602 unigenes, most of which were involved in metabolic processes. The DEG analysis revealed tissue-specific expression patterns with correlations between landraces. The isolation of biosynthetic genes identified 173 candidates. Phylogenetic analysis of the key enzymes in these pathways provides insights into their evolutionary relationships. The sequencing and analysis of DOXPS, GPPS, PS revealed distinct clades and subclades, highlighting their evolutionary divergence and functional conservation. Our findings highlight the roots as the primary sites of paeoniflorin and albiflorin accumulation in P. lactiflora, underscoring the importance of tissue-specific gene expression in their biosynthesis.

CONCLUSION

this study advances our understanding of monoterpene glycoside production and distribution in Paeonia, thereby guiding further plant biochemistry investigations.

Unraveling the Genetic Adaptations in Cell Surface Composition and Transporters of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum for Enhanced Acid Tolerance

This study employed adaptive laboratory evolution to improve the acid tolerance of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum, a vital strain in food fermentation and a potential probiotic. Phenotype and genomic analyses identified the overexpression of stress response proteins, ATP synthases, and transporters as pivotal in conferring acid tolerance to the evolved strains. These adaptations led to a shorter lag phase, improved survival rates, and higher intracellular pH values compared to the wild-type strain under acid stress conditions. Additionally, the evolved strains showed an increased expression of genes in the fatty acid synthesis pathway, resulting in a higher production of unsaturated fatty acids. The changes in cell membrane composition possibly prevented H+ influx, while mutant genes related to cell surface structure contributed to observed elongated cells and thicker cell surface. These alterations in cell wall and membrane composition, along with improved transporter efficiency, were key factors contributing to the enhanced acid tolerance in the evolved strains.

Illuminating the biosynthesis pathway genes involved in bioactive specific monoterpene glycosides in Paeonia veitchii Lynch by a combination of sequencing platforms

BACKGROUND

Paeonia veitchii Lynch, a well-known herb from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau south of the Himalayas, can synthesize specific monoterpene glycosides (PMGs) with multiple pharmacological activities, and its rhizome has become an indispensable ingredient in many clinical drugs. However, little is known about the molecular background of P. veitchii, especially the genes involved in the biosynthetic pathway of PMGs.

RESULTS

A corrective full-length transcriptome with 30,827 unigenes was generated by combining next-generation sequencing (NGS) and single-molecule real-time sequencing (SMRT) of six tissues (leaf, stem, petal, ovary, phloem and xylem). The enzymes terpene synthase (TPS), cytochrome P450 (CYP), UDP-glycosyltransferase (UGT), and BAHD acyltransferase, which participate in the biosynthesis of PMGs, were systematically characterized, and their functions related to PMG biosynthesis were analysed. With further insight into TPSs, CYPs, UGTs and BAHDs involved in PMG biosynthesis, the weighted gene coexpression network analysis (WGCNA) method was used to identify the relationships between these genes and PMGs. Finally, 8 TPSs, 22 CYPs, 7 UGTs, and 2 BAHD genes were obtained, and these putative genes were very likely to be involved in the biosynthesis of PMGs. In addition, the expression patterns of the putative genes and the accumulation of PMGs in tissues suggested that all tissues are capable of biosynthesizing PMGs and that aerial plant parts could also be used to extract PMGs.

CONCLUSION

We generated a large-scale transcriptome database across the major tissues in P. veitchii, providing valuable support for further research investigating P. veitchii and understanding the genetic information of plants from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. TPSs, CYPs, UGTs and BAHDs further contribute to a better understanding of the biology and complexity of PMGs in P. veitchii. Our study will help reveal the mechanisms underlying the biosynthesis pathway of these specific monoterpene glycosides and aid in the comprehensive utilization of this multifunctional plant.

Development of a Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Approach for Evaluating the Comprehensive Application of Herbaceous Peony at Low Latitudes

The growing region of herbaceous peony (Paeonia lactiflora) has been severely constrained due to the intensification of global warming and extreme weather events, especially at low latitudes. Assessing and selecting stress-tolerant and high-quality peony germplasm is essential for maintaining the normal growth and application of peonies under adverse conditions. This study proposed a modified multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) model for assessing peonies adapted to low-latitude climates based on our previous study. This model is low-cost, timesaving and suitable for screening the adapted peony germplasm under hot and humid climates. The evaluation was conducted through the analytic hierarchy process (AHP), three major criteria, including adaptability-related, ornamental feature-related and growth habits-related criteria, and eighteen sub-criteria were proposed and constructed in this study. The model was validated on fifteen herbaceous peonies cultivars from different latitudes. The results showed that 'Meiju', 'Hang Baishao', 'Hongpan Tuojin' and 'Bo Baishao' were assessed as Level I, which have strong growth adaptability and high ornamental values, and were recommended for promotion and application at low latitudes. The reliability and stability of the MCDM model were further confirmed by measuring the chlorophyll fluorescence of the selected adaptive cultivars 'Meiju' and 'Hang Baishao' and one maladaptive cultivar 'Zhuguang'. This study could provide a reference for the introduction, breeding and application of perennials under everchanging unfavorable climatic conditions.

Reliable reference genes and abiotic stress marker genes in Klebsormidium nitens

Microalgae have recently emerged as a key research topic, especially as biological models. Among them, the green alga Klebsormidium nitens, thanks to its particular adaptation to environmental stresses, represents an interesting photosynthetic eukaryote for studying the transition stages leading to the colonization of terrestrial life. The tolerance to different stresses is manifested by changes in gene expression, which can be monitored by quantifying the amounts of transcripts by RT-qPCR. The identification of optimal reference genes for experiment normalization was therefore necessary. In this study, using four statistical algorithms followed by the RankAggreg package, we determined the best reference gene pairs suitable for normalizing RT-qPCR data in K. nitens in response to three abiotic stresses: high salinity, PEG-induced dehydration and heat shock. Based on these reference genes, we were able to identify marker genes in response to the three abiotic stresses in K. nitens.

Herbaceous peony AP2/ERF transcription factor binds the promoter of the tryptophan decarboxylase gene to enhance high-temperature stress tolerance

Global warming has multifarious adverse effects on plant growth and productivity. Nonetheless, the effects of endogenous phytomelatonin on the high-temperature resistance of plants and the underlying genetic mechanisms remain unclear. Here, herbaceous peony (Paeonia lactiflora Pall.) tryptophan decarboxylase (TDC) gene involved in phytomelatonin biosynthesis was shown to respond to high-temperature stress at the transcriptional level, and its transcript level was positively correlated with phytomelatonin production. Moreover, overexpression of PlTDC enhanced phytomelatonin production and high-temperature stress tolerance in transgenic tobacco, while silencing PlTDC expression decreased these parameters in P. lactiflora. In addition, a 2402 bp promoter fragment of PlTDC was isolated, and DNA pull-down assay revealed that one APETALA2/ethylene-responsive element-binding factor (AP2/ERF) transcription factor, PlTOE3, could specifically activate the PlTDC promoter, which was further verified by yeast one-hybrid assay and luciferase reporter assay. PlTOE3 was a nucleus-localized protein, and its transcript level responded to high-temperature stress. Additionally, transgenic tobacco overexpressing PlTOE3 showed enhanced phytomelatonin production and high-temperature stress tolerance, while silencing PlTDC expression obtained the opposite results. These results illustrated that PlTOE3 bound the PlTDC promoter to enhance high-temperature stress tolerance by increasing phytomelatonin production in P. lactiflora.

Identification of genes associated with the biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acid and oil accumulation in herbaceous peony 'Hangshao' (Paeonia lactiflora 'Hangshao') seeds based on transcriptome analysis

Background

Paeonia lactiflora ‘Hangshao’ is widely cultivated in China as a traditional Chinese medicine ‘Radix Paeoniae Alba’. Due to the abundant unsaturated fatty acids in its seed, it can also be regarded as a new oilseed plant. However, the process of the biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acids in it has remained unknown. Therefore, transcriptome analysis is helpful to better understand the underlying molecular mechanisms.

Results

Five main fatty acids were detected, including stearic acid, palmitic acid, oleic acid, linoleic acid and α-linolenic acid, and their absolute contents first increased and then decreased during seed development. A total of 150,156 unigenes were obtained by transcriptome sequencing. There were 15,005 unigenes annotated in the seven functional databases, including NR, NT, GO, KOG, KEGG, Swiss-Prot and InterPro. Based on the KEGG database, 1766 unigenes were annotated in the lipid metabolism. There were 4635, 12,304, and 18,291 DEGs in Group I (60 vs 30 DAF), Group II (90 vs 60 DAF) and Group III (90 vs 30 DAF), respectively. A total of 1480 DEGs were detected in the intersection of the three groups. In 14 KEGG pathways of lipid metabolism, 503 DEGs were found, belonging to 111 enzymes. We screened out 123 DEGs involved in fatty acid biosynthesis (39 DEGs), fatty acid elongation (33 DEGs), biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acid (24 DEGs), TAG assembly (17 DEGs) and lipid storage (10 DEGs). Furthermore, qRT-PCR was used to analyze the expression patterns of 16 genes, including BBCP, BC, MCAT, KASIII, KASII, FATA, FATB, KCR, SAD, FAD2, FAD3, FAD7, GPAT, DGAT, OLE and CLO, most of which showed the highest expression at 45 DAF, except for DGAT, OLE and CLO, which showed the highest expression at 75 DAF.

Conclusions

We predicted that MCAT, KASIII, FATA, SAD, FAD2, FAD3, DGAT and OLE were the key genes in the unsaturated fatty acid biosynthesis and oil accumulation in herbaceous peony seed. This study provides the first comprehensive genomic resources characterizing herbaceous peony seed gene expression at the transcriptional level. These data lay the foundation for elucidating the molecular mechanisms of fatty acid biosynthesis and oil accumulation for herbaceous peony.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12864-020-07339-7.

Germplasm resources and genetic breeding of Paeonia: a systematic review

Members of the genus Paeonia, which consists of globally renowned ornamentals and traditional medicinal plants with a rich history spanning over 1500 years, are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Since 1900, over 2200 new horticultural Paeonia cultivars have been created by the discovery and breeding of wild species. However, information pertaining to Paeonia breeding is considerably fragmented, with fundamental gaps in knowledge, creating a bottleneck in effective breeding strategies. This review systematically introduces Paeonia germplasm resources, including wild species and cultivars, summarizes the breeding strategy and results of each Paeonia cultivar group, and focuses on recent progress in the isolation and functional characterization of structural and regulatory genes related to important horticultural traits. Perspectives pertaining to the resource protection and utilization, breeding and industrialization of Paeonia in the future are also briefly discussed.

Effects of drought stress on physiological responses and gene expression changes in herbaceous peony (Paeonia lactiflora Pall.)

Herbaceous peony (Paeonia lactiflora Pall.) is known as the flower phase. This phase is somewhat resistant to drought, but long-term drought and severe water shortage will affect its normal growth and development. In this study, physiological indices and the transcriptome of P. lactiflora were determined to clarify its physiological responses and gene expression changes under drought stress. The results showed that under drought stress, soluble sugar content, peroxidase (POD), catalase (CAT) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) activities, and chlorophyll, carotenoid and flavonoid contents were significantly increased, and soluble protein content, superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione reductase (GR), dehydroascorbate reductase (DHAR), monodehydroascorbate reductase (MDHAR), ascorbic acid (AsA) and glutathione (GSH) activity first increased and then decreased after day 14. Moreover, drought stress also significantly reduced chlorophyll content, photosynthesis and chlorophyll fluorescence parameters. Transcriptomic analysis revealed that compared with the Control, 10,747 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were upregulated and 11,835 downregulated under drought stress. These DEGs were classified into three categories and 46 functional groups by GO function classification. The 3,179 DEGs were enriched into 128 pathways by KEGG pathway enrichment. The ROS system, chlorophyll degradation and photosynthetic capacity, as well as secondary pathways of biosynthesis and sugar metabolism were included. Additionally, relevant genes expressed in some metabolic pathways were discovered. These results provide a theoretical basis for understanding the responses of P. lactiflora to drought stress.

Color characteristics, pigment accumulation and biosynthetic analyses of leaf color variation in herbaceous peony (Paeonia lactiflora Pall.)

Herbaceous peony (Paeonia lactiflora Pall.) is one of the color-leaved ornamental spring plants, with graceful appearance and splendid color. However, the underlying mechanism of this coloration variation from purple to green has not been studied in P. lactiflora. In th study, the leaves in purple, purple-green, and green stages were compared in terms of anatomical, physiological, and molecular. We found that the variation of leaf color from purple to green was mainly determined by the change in pigments distributed in the leaf surface. Physiological experiments showed a significant increase in chlorophyll contents and a notable reduction in anthocyanin contents in leaves from the purple to green stages. We further found that the anthocyanin biosynthesis-related dihydroflavonol 4-reductase (DFR) gene and anthocyanin synthase (ANS) gene as well as chlorophyll biosynthesis-related glutamyl-tRNA reductase (HEMA) gene showed a decreased trend in leaves from purple to green stages, whereas the chlorophyll degradation-related chlorophyll b reductase (NYC) gene showed a rising trend. Alteration of DFR and ANS gene expression might reduce anthocyanin accumulation, whereas increased HEMA gene expression would enhance chlorophyll biosynthesis and reduced NYC gene expression would inhibit chlorophyll degradation. Consequently, reduction in anthocyanins and enhanced deposition of chlorophylls resulted in leaf coloration variation from purple to green in P. lactiflora, which could improve our understanding of its mechanism for further studies.

Advances in molecular biology of Paeonia L

Molecular biology can serve as a tool to solve the limitations of traditional breeding and cultivation techniques related to flower patterns, the improvement of flower color, and the regulation of flowering and stress resistance. These characteristics of molecular biology ensured its significant role in improving the efficiency of breeding and germplasm amelioration of Paeonia. This review describes the advances in molecular biology of Paeonia, including: (1) the application of molecular markers; (2) genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and microRNA studies; (3) studies of functional genes; and (4) molecular biology techniques. This review also points out select limitations in current molecular biology, analyzes the direction of Paeonia molecular biology research, and provides advice for future research objectives.

Evaluating the Comprehensive Performance of Herbaceous Peonies at low latitudes by the Integration of Long-running Quantitative Observation and Multi-Criteria Decision Making Approach

Enlarging the planting area of economic plants, such as the "Southward Planting of Herbaceous Peony" (Paeonia lactiflora. Pall), is significant for improving people's lives. Peony is globally known as an ornamental because of gorgeous flowers and is mainly cultivated in the temperate regions with relatively cool and dry climates in the Northern Hemisphere. Promoting the landscape application of peony to the lower latitude regions is difficult because of the hot-humid climate. In this study, 29 northern peony cultivars and a unique Chinese southern peony, 'Hang Baishao', were introduced to Hangzhou, located in the central subtropics. Annual growth cycles, resistances and dormancy durations were measured, and crossbreeding between the southern and northern peonies was performed for six years, from 2012 to 2017. Based on data collected from the long-running quantitative observation (LQO), a multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) system was established to evaluate the comprehensive planting performance of these 30 cultivars in the central subtropics. 'Qihua Lushuang', 'Hang Baishao' and 'Meiju' were highly recommended, while 'Zhuguang' and 'Qiaoling' were scarcely recommended for the Hangzhou landscape. This study highlights the dependability and comprehensiveness of integrating the LQO and MCDM approaches for evaluating the introduction performance of ornamental plants.

Annual growth cycle observation, hybridization and forcing culture for improving the ornamental application of Paeonia lactiflora Pall. in the low-latitude regions

Expanding the southern range of herbaceous peony (Paeonia lactiflora Pall.) is a meaningful and worthwhile horticultural endeavor in the Northern Hemisphere. However, high temperatures in winter seriously hinder the bud dormancy release and flowering of peony in the more southern areas of subtropical and tropical regions. Resource introduction and hybridization can contribute to creating new cultivars with high adaptability in a warmer winter climate. In this study, three representative cultivars of P. lactiflora were screened for flowering capabilities and their annual growth cycles were observed to provide information needed for hybridization. Among these three cultivars, ‘Hang Baishao’ is the best adapted cultivar for southern growing regions and is unique in its ability to thrive in southern areas of N 30°00’. Pollen viability of ‘Hang Baishao’ was 55.60% based on five measuring methods, which makes it an excellent male parent in hybridization. Hybrid plants among these three cultivars grew well, but all of their flower buds aborted. Additionally, the ability of three growth regulators that advance the flowering of ‘Hang Baishao’ to promote an indoor cultivation strategy for improving peony application as a potted or cut-flower plant was tested. 5-azacytidine could impact the growth of ‘Hang Baishao’ and induce dwarfism and small flowers but not advance the flowering time. Gibberellin A₃ promoted the sprouting and growth significantly, but all plants eventually withered. Chilling at 0–4°C for four weeks and irrigation with 300 mg/L humic acid was the optimal combination used to hasten flowering and ensure flowering quality simultaneously. These results can lay the foundation for future studies on the chilling requirement trait, bud dormancy release and key functional gene exploration of herbaceous peony. Additionally, this study can also provide guidance for expanding the range of economically important plants with the winter dormancy trait to the low-latitude regions.

Overexpression of herbaceous peony HSP70 confers high temperature tolerance

Background

Heat shock proteins (HSPs) are found extensively in Eukaryotes and are involved in stress tolerance. However, their functions in herbaceous peony (Paeonia lactiflora Pall.) under high temperature stress are poorly characterized.

Results

In this study, the genomic sequence of P. lactiflora HSP70, designated PlHSP70, was isolated. Its full-length was 3635 bp, and it contained a large 1440-bp intron. The encoded protein with a molecular weight of 71 kDa was localized in the cytoplasm of the cell. PlHSP70 transcription was detected in P. lactiflora and increased with the treatment of high temperature stress. The constitutive overexpression of PlHSP70 in Arabidopsis thaliana obviously conferred tolerance to high temperature stress by affecting different physiological and biochemical indices. Transgenic A. thaliana plants exhibited higher chlorophyll fluorescence values than the wild-type (WT) when exposed to high temperature stress. The accumulation of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), superoxide anion free radical (O₂^·-) and relative electric conductivity (REC) were significantly lower in the transgenic A. thaliana plants compared to the WT. In addition, more intact cell membranes, chloroplasts and starch grains, and fewer plastoglobuli were found in the PlHSP70-overexpressing transgenic lines than in the WT.

Conclusions

All of these results indicated that PlHSP70 possessed the ability to improve the tolerance to high temperature in transgenic A. thaliana, which could provide a theoretical basis to improve high temperature tolerance of P. lactiflora by future genetic manipulation.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12864-019-5448-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Exogenous trehalose confers high temperature stress tolerance to herbaceous peony by enhancing antioxidant systems, activating photosynthesis, and protecting cell structure

Herbaceous peony (Paeonia lactiflora Pall.) is an excellent ornamental plant, which is usually stressed by summer high temperatures, but little is known about its relevant measures. In this study, the effects of trehalose on alleviating high temperature-induced damage in P. lactiflora were examined. High temperature stress in P. lactiflora increased production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), including superoxide anion free radical (O2·-) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), enhanced both malondialdehyde (MDA) content and relative electrical conductivity (REC), decreased superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, increased catalase (CAT) activity, inhibited photosynthesis, and destroyed cell structure. However, exogenous trehalose effectively alleviated its high temperature-induced damage. Trehalose decreased O2·- and H2O2 accumulation, MDA content, and REC, increased the activities of antioxidant enzymes, enhanced photosynthesis, improved cell structure, and made chloroplasts rounder. Additionally, trehalose induced high temperature-tolerant-related gene expressions to different degrees. These results indicated that trehalose decreased the deleterious effect of high temperature stress on P. lactiflora growth by enhancing antioxidant systems, activating photosynthesis, and protecting cell structure. These findings indicate the potential application of trehalose for managing high temperatures in P. lactiflora cultivation.