Project description:Sesame seeds is an important traditional crop with high oil content and other abundant nutrients which are very beneficial for diet and health of human being. However, the molecular mechanism for metabolite accumulation, especially for oil and phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, is still not very clear in sesame. In this study, the transcriptome profiles of black and white sesame seeds were compared by RNA-sequencing. Transcriptome analysis showed that the expression patterns of genes encoding phenylpropanoid pathway enzymes were different between the two sesame cultivars. Compared with white sesame, most of genes involved in oil biosynthesis were significantly down-regulated in black sesame.
Project description:Purple-grain wheat are caused by anthocyanin accumulation in the seed coat. But little is known about molecular mechanism of anthocyanin biosynthesis. The anthocyanin biosynthesis and accumulation were affected by light in purple-grain wheat. The spikes of purple-grain wheat Luozhen No.1 were bagged with four-layer Kraft paper bags after pollination. To identify genes involved in the anthocyanin biosynthesis, we sequenced four pericarp cDNA libraries, D15 (15 DAP), D20 (20 DAP) of shading treatment, and L15 (15 DAP), L20 (20 DAP) of untreated control using an Illumina HiSeqTM 2000. After quality control, raw reads are filtered into clean reads which will be aligned to the reference sequences. The alignment data is utilized to calculate distribution of reads on reference genes and mapping ratio, and proceed with downstream analysis including gene and isoform expression, deep analysis based on gene expression (PCA/correlation/screening differentially expressed genes and so on),exon expression, gene structure refinement, alternative splicing, novel transcript prediction and annotation, SNP detection, Indel detection. Further, we also perform deep analysis based on different expression genes, including Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analysis, Pathway enrichment analysis, cluster analysis, and finding transcriptor factor.
Project description:Background: Anthocyanins are the most important compounds for nutritional quality and economic values of blood orange. However, there are few reports on the pre-harvest treatment accelerate the accumulation of anthocyanins in postharvest blood orange fruit. Here, we performed a comparative Transcriptome and metabolomics analysis to elucidate the underlying mechanism involved in seasonal drought (SD) treatment during fruit expansion stage on anthocyanin accumulation in postharvest ‘Tarocco’ blood orange fruit. Results: Our results showed that SD treatment slowed down the fruit enlargement and increased the sugar accumulation during fruit development and matured period. Obviously, under SD treatment, the accumulation of anthocyanin in blood orange fruit during postharvest storage was significantly accelerated and markedly higher than that in CK. Meanwhile, the total flavonoids and phenols contents and antioxidant activity in SD treatment fruit were also sensibly increased during postharvest storage. Based on metabolome, we found that substrates required for anthocyanin biosynthesis, such as amino acids and their derivatives, and phenolic acids, have significantly accumulated and higher in SD treated mature fruit compared with that of CK. Further according to the results of transcriptome data and weighted gene coexpression correlation network analysis (WGCNA) analysis, phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL3) was considered key structural gene. qRT-PCR analysis verified that the PAL3 was highly expressed in SD treated postharvest stored fruit and was significantly positively correlated with the anthocyanin content. Moreover, we found that other structural genes in anthocyanin biosynthesis pathway were also upregulated under SD treatment through transcriptome data and qRT-PCR analysis. Conclusions: The findings suggest that SD treatment promotes the accumulation of substrates necessary for anthocyanin biosynthesis during fruit ripening process, and activates the expression of anthocyanin biosynthesis pathway genes during postharvest storage period, especially PAL3, co-contributed to the rapid accumulation of anthocyanin. The present study provides a theoretical basis for postharvest quality control and water-saving utilization of blood orange fruit.
Project description:The aerial parts of Glycyrrhiza uralensis supply substantial raw material for the extraction of active pharmaceutical ingredients comprehensively utilized in many industries. Liquiritin is the unique and most abundant flavonoid active component in G. uralensis. It has a wide range of pharmacological activities and high economic value. Our previous study indicated that moderate salt stress increased the content of active ingredients. However, the regulatory mechanism remains unclear. In this study, RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) of the aerial parts of G. uralensis treated with 150 mM NaCl for 0, 2, 6, and 12 h was performed to identify the key genes and metabolic pathways regulating pharmacological active component accumulation. The main active component detection showed that liquiritin was the major ingredient and exhibited more than a 10-fold significant increase in the 6-h NaCl treatment. Temporal expression analysis of the obtained 4245 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) obtained by RNA-seq revealed two screened profiles that included the significant up-regulated DEGs (UDEGs) at different treatment points. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis of these UDEGs identified phenylpropanoid metabolism and flavonoid biosynthesis as the most significantly enriched pathways in 2-h treated materials. Interestingly, the carotenoid biosynthesis pathway that is related to ABA synthesis was also discovered, and the ABA content was significantly promoted after 6-h NaCl treatment. Following ABA stimulation, the content of liquiritin demonstrated a significant and immediate increase after 2-h treatment, with the corresponding consistent expression of genes involved in the pathways of ABA signal transduction and flavonoid biosynthesis, but not in the pathway of glycyrrhizic acid biosynthesis. Therefore, salt stress might promote liquiritin accumulation through the ABA-mediated signaling pathway in G. uralensis. Our study provides candidate genes and pathways controlling liquiritin synthesis, and would drive progress in genetic improvement and promote the comprehensive utilization of the aerial part of G. uralensis.