Identification and Cold Stress-Induced Expression Patterns of TIFY Family Genes in Sweet Orange

Zhang, Yu; He, Ligang; Wang, Zhijing; Song, Xin; Fan, Yanjie; Xiao, Cui; Wang, Ce; Jiang, Yingchun; Wu, Liming; Song, Fang

doi:10.3390/horticulturae12060748

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Open AccessArticle

Identification and Cold Stress-Induced Expression Patterns of TIFY Family Genes in Sweet Orange

by

Yu Zhang

^1,†

,

Ligang He

^1,†,

Zhijing Wang

¹,

Xin Song

¹

,

Yanjie Fan

¹

,

Cui Xiao

¹

,

Ce Wang

¹,

Yingchun Jiang

^1,2,

Liming Wu

^1,2,* and

Fang Song

^1,2,*

¹

Hubei Key Laboratory of Germplasm Innovation and Utilization of Fruit Trees, Institute of Fruit and Tea, Hubei Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Wuhan 430064, China

²

Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, Wuhan 430070, China

^*

Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.

^†

These authors contributed equally to this work.

Horticulturae 2026, 12(6), 748; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae12060748 (registering DOI)

Submission received: 19 May 2026 / Revised: 16 June 2026 / Accepted: 18 June 2026 / Published: 19 June 2026

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Physiological Traits and Molecular Regulation of Horticultural Crops Under Biotic and Abiotic Stress)

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Abstract

Citrus fruits are widely cultivated all over the world. Due to climatic conditions, citrus fruits are frequently exposed to periodic low temperatures, which poses a serious threat to their yield and quality. Cold not only restricts plant growth and deteriorates fruit quality but also leads to fruit abscission and tree mortality, posing severe constraints on large-scale citrus production. The TIFY family gene plays crucial roles in plant development and stress adaptation. However, the genome-wide identification and functional analysis of TIFY genes in cold stress adaptation of citrus plants remain largely unexplored. Here, we performed a systematic genome-wide analysis of the TIFY family in sweet orange (Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck) and identified 14 CsTIFY members. We conducted a comprehensive study on the protein characteristics, phylogenetic relationships, gene structure, chromosome distribution, promoter cis-acting elements, and subcellular localization of these genes. Phylogenetic analysis classified the CsTIFYs into ZML (ZML1–ZML4), JAZ (JAZ1–JAZ7), PPD (JAZ8, JAZ9), and TIFY (TIFY1) subfamilies, and they are distributed on seven chromosomes. Collinearity analysis revealed that segmental duplication is the primary driver for CsTIFY family expansion. Expression profiling under cold stress identified JAZ1, JAZ2, and JAZ3 as the most cold-inducible members. All three CsTIFY proteins are targeted to the nucleus, as confirmed by subcellular localization analysis. Overexpression of JAZ1, JAZ2, or JAZ3 in citrus calli significantly enhanced cold sensibility. Collectively, this study elucidates the gene function of CsTIFYs under cold stress and provides new insight for molecular breeding of cold-tolerant citrus varieties.

Keywords: TIFY transcription factor; citrus; genome-wide identification; JAZ1/2/3; expression analysis; cold stress

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MDPI and ACS Style

Zhang, Y.; He, L.; Wang, Z.; Song, X.; Fan, Y.; Xiao, C.; Wang, C.; Jiang, Y.; Wu, L.; Song, F. Identification and Cold Stress-Induced Expression Patterns of TIFY Family Genes in Sweet Orange. Horticulturae 2026, 12, 748. https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae12060748

AMA Style

Zhang Y, He L, Wang Z, Song X, Fan Y, Xiao C, Wang C, Jiang Y, Wu L, Song F. Identification and Cold Stress-Induced Expression Patterns of TIFY Family Genes in Sweet Orange. Horticulturae. 2026; 12(6):748. https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae12060748

Chicago/Turabian Style

Zhang, Yu, Ligang He, Zhijing Wang, Xin Song, Yanjie Fan, Cui Xiao, Ce Wang, Yingchun Jiang, Liming Wu, and Fang Song. 2026. "Identification and Cold Stress-Induced Expression Patterns of TIFY Family Genes in Sweet Orange" Horticulturae 12, no. 6: 748. https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae12060748

APA Style

Zhang, Y., He, L., Wang, Z., Song, X., Fan, Y., Xiao, C., Wang, C., Jiang, Y., Wu, L., & Song, F. (2026). Identification and Cold Stress-Induced Expression Patterns of TIFY Family Genes in Sweet Orange. Horticulturae, 12(6), 748. https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae12060748

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Identification and Cold Stress-Induced Expression Patterns of TIFY Family Genes in Sweet Orange

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