Comparative transcriptome analysis reveals differentially expressed genes associated with sex expression in garden asparagus (Asparagus officinalis)

BMC Plant Biology

Research Article

Xue-Jin Zhang¹  Shu-Fen Li¹  Wu-Jun Gao¹  Chuan-Liang Deng¹  Jin-Hong Yuan¹  Guo-Jun Zhang² 

[1] College of Life Sciences, Henan Normal University, 453007, Xinxiang, China;School of Basic Medical Sciences, Xinxiang Medical University, 453003, Xinxiang, China;

关键词: Asparagus officinalis;    Sex-biased gene expression;    Sex determination;    Sex differentiation;    Sex expression;    Transcriptome sequencing;    Transcription factor;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12870-017-1091-6

 received in 2017-01-05, accepted in 2017-08-14,  发布年份 2017

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundGarden asparagus (Asparagus officinalis) is a highly valuable vegetable crop of commercial and nutritional interest. It is also commonly used to investigate the mechanisms of sex determination and differentiation in plants. However, the sex expression mechanisms in asparagus remain poorly understood.ResultsDe novo transcriptome sequencing via Illumina paired-end sequencing revealed more than 26 billion bases of high-quality sequence data from male and female asparagus flower buds. A total of 72,626 unigenes with an average length of 979 bp were assembled. In comparative transcriptome analysis, 4876 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified in the possible sex-determining stage of female and male/supermale flower buds. Of these DEGs, 433, including 285 male/supermale-biased and 149 female-biased genes, were annotated as flower related. Of the male/supermale-biased flower-related genes, 102 were probably involved in anther development. In addition, 43 DEGs implicated in hormone response and biosynthesis putatively associated with sex expression and reproduction were discovered. Moreover, 128 transcription factor (TF)-related genes belonging to various families were found to be differentially expressed, and this finding implied the essential roles of TF in sex determination or differentiation in asparagus. Correlation analysis indicated that miRNA-DEG pairs were also implicated in asparagus sexual development.ConclusionsOur study identified a large number of DEGs involved in the sex expression and reproduction of asparagus, including known genes participating in plant reproduction, plant hormone signaling, TF encoding, and genes with unclear functions. We also found that miRNAs might be involved in the sex differentiation process. Our study could provide a valuable basis for further investigations on the regulatory networks of sex determination and differentiation in asparagus and facilitate further genetic and genomic studies on this dioecious species.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s). 2017