Comparative transcriptome profiling of freezing stress responses in loquat (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Eriobotrya japonica</Emphasis>) fruitlets

Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica Lindl.) is an important subtropical, commercial fruit in China. It blossoms during autumn and winter in most areas of China and its fruitlets usually suffer from freezing stress. However, studies about the mechanisms underlying freezing stress in loquat are very limited. The gene expression profiles of loquat fruitlets subjected to freezing (G2 library) versus non-treated ones (G1 library) were investigated using Illumina sequencing technology to elucidate the molecular mechanisms and identify the genes that play vital roles in the freezing stress response. The results showed that approximately 157.63 million reads in total were obtained from freeze-treated and non-treated loquat fruitlets. These reads were assembled into 87,379 unigenes with an average length of 710 bp and an N50 of 1,200 bp. After comparing the profiles obtained from the G1 and G2 libraries, 2,892 differentially expressed genes were identified, of which 1,883 were up-regulated and 1,009 were down-regulated in the treated samples compared to non-treated ones. These unigenes showed significant differences in expression for carbohydrate transport and metabolism, amino acid metabolism, energy metabolism, and lipid metabolism, which are involved in defense against freezing stress. Glycolysis/gluconeogenesis was one of the most significantly regulated pathways. Freezing also significantly damaged the membrane system of loquat fruitlets, and several defense mechanisms were induced. Some selected genes related to low temperature resistance were validated by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). The results revealed many genes and pathways that are part of freezing resistance processes and expand our understanding of the complex molecular events involved in freezing stress.     

沙葱萤叶甲成虫不同夏滞育阶段的转录组分析(英文)

【目的】本研究旨在揭示内蒙古草原新害虫沙葱萤叶甲Galeruca daurica专性夏滞育相关的重要基因以及代谢通路。【方法】应用RNA-Seq技术,对沙葱萤叶甲成虫不同夏滞育阶段［滞育前期(PD)、滞育期(D)及滞育后期(TD)］进行转录组测序、分析及基因功能预测,基于RNA-Seq数据筛选夏滞育不同阶段差异表达基因;利用qPCR对基于RNA-Seq数据筛选的10个差异表达基因的表达水平进行验证。【结果】从9个文库中获得202 770 198 clean reads,将12 078 060条转录本组装获得82 292 条unigene,平均长度为783.59 bp,N50为1 545 bp。沙葱萤叶甲D vs PD和TD vs D 比较组分别有2 395(2 119上调和277下调)和62(59上调和3下调)个差异基因。KEGG分析表明,D vs PD和TD vs D比较组差异表达基因分别显著富集于糖孝解/糖异生通路和脂肪酸生物合成通路;此外,许多与钙离子信号转导相关的基因在滞育期间差异表达。10个差异表达基因的qPCR分析表明,RNA-Seq与qPCR结果高度一致。【结论】糖孝解/糖异生、脂肪酸生物合成及钙离子信号通路可能在沙葱萤叶甲滞育调节中起着重要的作用。本研究为进一步研究沙葱萤叶甲成虫专性夏滞育的分子机理奠定了基础。