Transcriptome Analysis to Identify Candidate Genes That Respond to GA3 Treatments During Early Cherry Fruit Development

Cherry (Prunus avium) fruits contain a large seed, making processing of the fruit laborious and consumption by the consumer challenging. The exogenous application of gibberellic acid (GA3) has been shown to induce the development of seedless cherry fruits. Through transcriptomic analysis, we identified putative orthologs of auxin response factor 7 (ARF7), auxin/indole-3-acetic acid 9 (AUX/IAA9), and repressor of GA-like 2 (DELLA-RGL2), which have previously been shown to promote seedless fruit development when downregulated. These genes have also been implicated in mediating crosstalk between the auxin and gibberellin signalling pathways during fruit development. We have shown that gibberellic acid acts as a trigger for fruit set and permits the normal formation of fruit up to a period of twenty-eight days. This work demonstrated that additional signals are required for the continued development of fully mature parthenocapic fruit in sweet cherry. We have identified candidate genes involved in seed development that represent an important step toward the genetic improvement of sweet cherry varieties. Our findings provide insight into potential targets for breeding programs aimed at developing seedless cherry varieties for commercial exploitation.