Leaf transcriptome analysis of a subtropical evergreen broadleaf plant, wild oil-tea camellia (Camellia oleifera), revealing candidate genes for cold acclimation

BMC Genomics

Research Article

Jun Rong¹  Jiaming Chen¹  Xiaoqiang Yang¹  Xiaomao Huang¹  Jiakuan Chen¹  Chuan Long²  Shihua Duan³ 

[1] Center for Watershed Ecology, Institute of Life Science and School of Life Sciences, Nanchang University, 330031, Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, China;Key Laboratory of Poyang Lake Environment and Resource Utilization, Ministry of Education, Nanchang University, 330031, Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, China;Jinggangshan National Nature Reserve Administration Bureau, 343600, Jinggangshan, Jiangxi Province, China;School of Life Sciences, Jinggangshan University, 343009, Ji’an, Jiangxi Province, China;

关键词: Camellia oleifera;    Cold acclimation;    Differential gene expression;    Genetic structure;    Molecular marker;    Transcriptome;    Wild oil-tea camellia;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12864-017-3570-4

 received in 2016-07-07, accepted in 2017-02-09,  发布年份 2017

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundCold tolerance is a key determinant of the geographical distribution range of a plant species and crop production. Cold acclimation can enhance freezing-tolerance of plant species through a period of exposure to low nonfreezing temperatures. As a subtropical evergreen broadleaf plant, oil-tea camellia demonstrates a relatively strong tolerance to freezing temperatures. Moreover, wild oil-tea camellia is an essential genetic resource for the breeding of cultivated oil-tea camellia, one of the four major woody oil crops in the world. The aims of our study are to identify variations in transcriptomes of wild oil-tea camellia from different latitudes and elevations, and discover candidate genes for cold acclimation.ResultsLeaf transcriptomes were obtained of wild oil-tea camellia from different elevations in Lu and Jinggang Mountains, China. Huge amounts of simple sequence repeats (SSRs), single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and insertion/deletions (InDels) were identified. Based on SNPs, phylogenetic analysis was performed to detect genetic structure. Wild oil-tea camellia samples were genetically differentiated mainly between latitudes (between Lu and Jinggang Mountains) and then among elevations (within Lu or Jinggang Mountain). Gene expression patterns of wild oil-tea camellia samples were compared among different air temperatures, and differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were discovered. When air temperatures were below 10 °C, gene expression patterns changed dramatically and majority of the DEGs were up-regulated at low temperatures. More DEGs concerned with cold acclimation were detected at 2 °C than at 5 °C, and a putative C-repeat binding factor (CBF) gene was significantly up-regulated only at 2 °C, suggesting a stronger cold stress at 2 °C. We developed a new method for identifying significant functional groups of DEGs. Among the DEGs, transmembrane transporter genes were found to be predominant and many of them encoded transmembrane sugar transporters.ConclusionsOur study provides one of the largest transcriptome dataset in the genus Camellia. Wild oil-tea camellia populations were genetically differentiated between latitudes. It may undergo cold acclimation when air temperatures are below 10 °C. Candidate genes for cold acclimation may be predominantly involved in transmembrane transporter activities.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s). 2017