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Advances in Plant Dormancy pp 123–135Cite as

Flower Bud Dormancy in Prunus Species

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Abstract

In Prunus species, developing flower buds survive winter by entering a dormant stage. However, dormancy is not just a survival strategy, but also a prerequisite for proper flowering and fruiting. In spite of its importance and the fact that cold requirements are empirically known for a number of cultivars, what occurs during dormancy at the cellular and molecular level remains somewhat of a mystery. Here we review the information available on the genetic control and the possible physiological mechanisms involved in flower bud dormancy in Prunus species. Genes involved in flower regulation appear to play some role, but the interactions between these genes is still being determined, as well as the possible epigenetic control of this process. From a physiological perspective, dormancy in vegetative buds appears to be associated with isolation both at the cell and at the organ level, and this could also be the case in developing flower buds, but this remains to be studied. Finally, characterization of biological factors impacting these processes will clearly contribute to our understanding of dormancy.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MICINN)-FEDER [AGL 12621-C02-01, AGL 2012-40239], INIA (RF2011-00029-CO03-01-02) and Gobierno de Aragón [group A43]. E.F. was supported by a doctoral fellowship [FPI BES-2010-037992] from MICINN.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Estación Experimental Aula Dei, CSIC, Av. Montañana 1005, 50059, Zaragoza, Spain

    Erica Fadón & Maria Herrero

  2. Centro de Investigación y Tecnología Agroalimentaria (CITA), Av. Montañana nº 930, 50059, Zaragoza, Spain

    Erica Fadón & Javier Rodrigo

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  1. Erica Fadón
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  2. Maria Herrero
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  3. Javier Rodrigo
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Correspondence to Erica Fadón .

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  1. Sunflower and Plant Biology Research, USDA-ARS, Fargo, North Dakota, USA

    James V. Anderson

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Fadón, E., Herrero, M., Rodrigo, J. (2015). Flower Bud Dormancy in Prunus Species. In: Anderson, J. (eds) Advances in Plant Dormancy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-14451-1_6

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