Hydrogen peroxide priming triggers splicing memory in grape berries

Abstract

Plants are highly sensitive to environmental changes, and alternative splicing (AS) has been described in many studies due to its important control role in stress response. Recent studies indicated that plants exhibit splicing memory to stress to effectively activate transcriptional adaptation. Hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), as a reactive oxygen species (ROS), has toxic effects on plants. However, it also has a significant effect on promoting early maturity of 'Kyoho' grape at low concentrations. To explore the mechanism of priming treatment of H₂O₂ showing better promotion effect, the RNA-Seq data of H₂O₂-primied and no-primied fruits were analyzed. The genes with H₂O₂ stress splicing memory were identified, accompanied by changes in H3K4me3 modification levels, and their splicing memory patterns were verified by PCR and agarose gel electrophoresis. This finding establishes a link between alternative splicing memory and fruit ripening under H₂O₂ regulation and contribute to develop the application of H₂O₂ in fruit ripening.

Keywords: Grape; H2O2; Priming; Splicing memory.