Identification of hexokinase family members in pear (Pyrus x bretschneideri) and functional exploration of PbHXK1 in modulating sugar content and plant growth

Hexokinase (HXK) is a multifunctional protein that serves as a sugar sensor for glucose signaling and a catalyst for glycolysis. It has been well studied in many species, however, there is far less information about this family in pear. To investigate the roles of HXK in the growth and development of pear fruit, we performed a genome-wide analysis and identified the HXK gene family members in pear. In addition, we functionally characterized a glucose sensor gene, PbHXK1, in P. bretschneideri. In total, 10 HXK genes were identified in pear, and a multiple sequence alignment and phylogenetic analysis showed that PbHXK1 is a Type B HXK that contains four conserved domains, phosphate 1 and 2, sugar binding and adenosine, which are specific to plant HXKs and essential for enzymatic functions. A qRT-PCR analysis revealed that the relative expression levels of PbHXK1 were negatively correlated with sugar content but significantly positively correlated with HXK activity during pear fruit development. Furthermore, the overexpression of PbHXK1 in tomatoes significantly enhanced the HXK activity and decreased the sugar content. In addition, the growth of transgenic tomato plants overexpressing PbHXK1 was inhibited, leading to shortened internodes and smaller leaves. Thus, in pear, PbHXK1 encodes HXK, which regulated the sugar content in fruit and affected the growth and development of plants.