Interaction of gibberellin and other hormones in almond anthers: phenotypic and physiological changes and transcriptomic reprogramming

Low temperature causes anther dysfunction, severe pollen sterility and, ultimately, major yield losses in crop plants. Previous studies have shown that the gibberellic acid (GA) metabolic pathway plays an important role in this process by regulating tapetum function and pollen development. However, the interaction mechanism of GA with other hormones mediating anther development is still unclear. Herein, we collected and analyzed almond (Amygdalus communis L.) anthers at the meiosis, tetrad, 1-nucleus, and mature 2-nucleus stages. The growth rate per 1000 anthers exhibited a significant positive correlation with the total bioactive GA compound content, and the levels of all bioactive GA compounds were highest in the 1-nucleus pollen stage. GA(3) treatment experiments indicated that exogenous GA(3) increased the levels of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), trans-zeatin (tZ), and jasmonic acid (JA) and decreased the levels of salicylic acid (SA) and abscisic acid (ABA); moreover, GA(3) improved pollen viability and quantities under cold conditions, whereas PP(333) (paclobutrazol, an inhibitor of GA biosynthesis) was antagonistic with GA(3) in controlling anther development. RNA-seq and qRT-PCR results showed that GA played an important role in anther development by regulating the expression of other phytohormone pathway genes, dehydration-responsive element-binding/C-repeat binding factor (DREB1/CBF)-mediated signaling genes, and anther development pathway genes. Our results reveal the novel finding that GA interacts with other hormones to balance anther development under normal- and low-temperature conditions in almond.