Target enrichment sequencing coupled with GWAS identifies as a candidate gene in the control of budbreak in apple.

The timing of floral budbreak in apple has a significant effect on fruit production and quality. Budbreak occurs as a result of a complex molecular mechanism that relies on accurate integration of external environmental cues, principally temperature. In the pursuit of understanding this mechanism, especially with respect to aiding adaptation to climate change, a QTL at the top of linkage group (LG) 9 has been identified by many studies on budbreak, but the genes underlying it remain elusive.

The Identification of Small RNAs Differentially Expressed in Apple Buds Reveals a Potential Role of the Mir159-MYB Regulatory Module during Dormancy.

Winter dormancy is an adaptative mechanism that temperate and boreal trees have developed to protect their meristems against low temperatures. In apple trees (), cold temperatures induce bud dormancy at the end of summer/beginning of the fall. Apple buds stay dormant during winter until they are exposed to a period of cold, after which they can resume growth (budbreak) and initiate flowering in response to warmer temperatures in spring.

Unraveling the role of MADS transcription factor complexes in apple tree dormancy.

A group of MADS transcription factors (TFs) are believed to control temperature-mediated bud dormancy. These TFs, called DORMANCY-ASSOCIATED MADS-BOX (DAM), are encoded by genes similar to SHORT VEGETATIVE PHASE (SVP) from Arabidopsis. MADS proteins form transcriptional complexes whose combinatory composition defines their molecular function.