ArticleBMC plant biology2026
Transcriptome-based identification of the WRKY gene family in Polygala tenuifolia Willd. and their response to cold stress.
Article in BMC plant biology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundPolygala tenuifolia Willd. is an important traditional medicinal plant widely used in prescriptions for cognitive enhancement. Cold stress severely affects seedling growth and medicinal quality in P. tenuifolia; however, the molecular mechanisms underlying cold tolerance remain poorly understood. WRKY transcription factors (TFs) are key regulators of abiotic stress responses in plants, but their role in cold stress adaptation of P. tenuifolia has not been systematically explored.
resultsCold stress caused pronounced but reversible growth inhibition in P. tenuifolia seedlings and was accompanied by dynamic physiological changes. During early cold exposure, proline content, chlorophyll a and b levels, and antioxidant enzyme activities increased, while membrane lipid peroxidation was effectively suppressed, indicating an active stress mitigation response. Transcriptome analysis revealed significant enrichment of genes involved in photosynthesis, oxidative stress response, secondary metabolite biosynthesis, and plant hormone signaling pathways. A total of 104 cold-responsive WRKY TF genes (PtWRKYs) were identified from transcriptome data. Promoter analysis showed that many PtWRKY genes contained low-temperature and abscisic acid-responsive cis-acting elements. Expression profiling further demonstrated marked diversity in cold responsiveness among PtWRKYs. Notably, Pt13G01037 and Pt17G01891 showed strong induction under cold stress and distinct tissue-specific expression patterns, suggesting their potential roles in regulating cold tolerance.
conclusionsThis study reveals coordinated physiological adaptation and WRKY-mediated transcriptional regulation in P. tenuifolia under cold stress. The identification of cold-responsive PtWRKY genes, particularly Pt13G01037 and Pt17G01891, provides promising candidate regulators for future functional studies aimed at improving cold tolerance and stabilizing medicinal traits in P. tenuifolia.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.