Overexpression of blueberry is associated with changes in the expression of phytohormone-related genes in blueberry plants.

() is a primary integrator in the regulation of plant flowering. Overexpressing a blueberry ( L.) gene () (herein -OX) resulted in early flowering and dwarfing in 'Aurora' plants (herein 'VcFT-Aurora'). In this study, we found that -OX reduced shoot regeneration from leaf explants. To investigate the potential roles of the phytohormone pathway genes associated with -OX, differentially expressed () genes in leaf tissues of 'VcFT-Aurora' plants were annotated and analyzed using non-transgenic 'Aurora' plants as a control. Three floral genes, including the blueberry SUPPRESSOR of Overexpression of constans 1 () (gibberellin related), Abscisic acid responsive elements-binding factor 2 () and protein related to ABI3/VP1 () (ethylene-related), are present under both the phytohormone-responsive and the dwarfing-related Gene Ontology terms. The gene networks of the genes overall showed the molecular basis of the multifunctional aspects of overexpression beyond flowering promotion and suggested that phytohormone changes could be signaling molecules with important roles in the phenotypic changes driven by -OX.