Transcriptome analysis reveals gene expression associated with fuzz fiber initiation regulated by high-temperature in Gossypium barbadense
Abstract Background: Gossypium barbadense L. is the most important renewable source of textile fiber. Cotton fiber cell initiation and elongation are often affected by various environmental stimulus, such as high temperature. However, little is known about the underlying mechanisms of temperature regulating the fuzz fiber initiation.Results: In the present study, phenotypic observation revealed that high temperature (HT) accelerated the fiber development, improved fiber quality and induced fuzz fiber initiation. It has been proved that the fuzz fiber initiation was inhibited by low temperature (LT), and 4 days post-anthesis (DPA) was the key stage for fuzz fiber initiation. Based on comparative transcriptome analysis, a total of 43,826 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified, of which 9,667 were involved in both fiber development and temperature response with 901 transcription factor genes and 189 genes related to plant hormone signal transduction. Further analysis of gene expression patterns revealed that 240 genes were involved in fuzz fiber initiation. Functional annotation revealed that the candidate genes related to fuzz initiation were significantly involved in asparagine biosynthetic process, cell wall biosynthesis and stress response. Furthermore, the expression trends of sixteen selected genes from the RNA-seq data were almost consistent with the results of qRT-PCR results.Conclusions: Our study revealed several potential candidate genes and pathways that related to fuzz fiber initiation induced by high-temperature and provided a new view of temperature-induced tissue and organ development in Gossypium barbadense.