PsSOC1 is involved in the gibberellin pathway to trigger cell proliferation and budburst during endodormancy release in tree peony

Summary Tree peony ( Paeonia suffruticosa ) undergoes bud endodormancy, and gibberellin (GA) pathway plays a crucial role in dormancy regulation. Recently, a key DELLA protein PsRGL1 has been identified as a negative regulator of bud dormancy release. However, the mechanism of GA signal to break bud dormancy remains unknown. In this study, yeast two‐hybrid screened PsSOC1 interacting with PsRGL1 through its MADS domain, and interaction was identified using pull‐down and luciferase complementation imaging assays Transformation in tree peony and hybrid poplar confirmed that PsSOC1 facilitated bud dormancy release. Transcriptome analysis of PsSOC1 ‐overexpressed buds indicated PsCYCD3.3 and PsEBB3 were its potential downstream targets combining with promoter survey, and they also accelerated bud dormancy release verified by genetic analysis. Yeast one‐hybrid, electrophoretic mobility shifts assays, chromatin immunoprecipitation quantitative PCR, and dual luciferase assays confirmed that PsSOC1 could directly bind to the CArG motif of PsCYCD3.3 and PsEBB3 promoters via its MADS domain. PsRGL1–PsSOC1 interaction inhibited the DNA‐binding activity of PsSOC1. Additionally, PsCYCD3.3 promoted bud dormancy release by rebooting cell proliferation. These findings elucidated a novel GA pathway, GA‐PsRGL1‐PsSOC1‐ PsCYCDs , which expanded our understanding of the GA pathway in bud dormancy release.