ABA‐responsive ABRE‐BINDING FACTOR3 activates<i>DAM3</i>expression to promote bud dormancy in Asian pear

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>Bud dormancy is indispensable for the survival of perennial plants in cold winters. Abscisic acid (ABA) has essential functions influencing the endo‐dormancy status.<jats:italic>Dormancy‐associated MADS</jats:italic>‐<jats:italic>box</jats:italic>/<jats:italic>SHORT VEGETATIVE PHASE</jats:italic>‐<jats:italic>like</jats:italic>genes function downstream of the ABA signalling pathway to regulate bud dormancy. However, the regulation of<jats:italic>DAM</jats:italic>/<jats:italic>SVP</jats:italic>expression remains largely uncharacterized. In this study, we confirmed that endo‐dormancy maintenance and<jats:italic>PpyDAM3</jats:italic>expression are controlled by the ABA content in pear (<jats:styled-content style="fixed-case"><jats:italic>Pyrus pyrifolia</jats:italic></jats:styled-content>) buds. The expression of pear<jats:italic>ABRE‐BINDING FACTOR3</jats:italic>(<jats:italic>PpyABF3</jats:italic>) was positively correlated with<jats:italic>PpyDAM3</jats:italic>expression. Furthermore, PpyABF3 directly bound to the second ABRE in the<jats:italic>PpyDAM3</jats:italic>promoter to activate its expression. Interestingly, both PpyABF3 and PpyDAM3 repressed the cell division and growth of transgenic pear calli. Another ABA‐induced ABF protein, PpyABF2, physically interacted with PpyABF3 and disrupted the activation of the<jats:italic>PpyDAM3</jats:italic>promoter by PpyABF3, indicating<jats:italic>DAM</jats:italic>expression was precisely controlled. Additionally, our results suggested that the differences in the<jats:italic>PpyDAM3</jats:italic>promoter in two pear cultivars might be responsible for the diversity in the chilling requirements. In summary, our data clarify the finely tuned regulatory mechanism underlying the effect of ABA on<jats:italic>DAM</jats:italic>gene expression and provide new insights into ABA‐related bud dormancy regulation.</jats:p>