scholarly journals Combining QTL Mapping and Transcriptomics to Decipher the Genetic Architecture of Phenolic Compounds Metabolism in the Conifer White Spruce

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justine Laoué ◽  
Claire Depardieu ◽  
Sébastien Gérardi ◽  
Manuel Lamothe ◽  
Claude Bomal ◽  
...  

Conifer forests worldwide are becoming increasingly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Although the production of phenolic compounds (PCs) has been shown to be modulated by biotic and abiotic stresses, the genetic basis underlying the variation in their constitutive production level remains poorly documented in conifers. We used QTL mapping and RNA-Seq to explore the complex polygenic network underlying the constitutive production of PCs in a white spruce (Picea glauca) full-sib family for 2 years. QTL detection was performed for nine PCs and differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified between individuals with high and low PC contents for five PCs exhibiting stable QTLs across time. A total of 17 QTLs were detected for eight metabolites, including one major QTL explaining up to 91.3% of the neolignan-2 variance. The RNA-Seq analysis highlighted 50 DEGs associated with phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, several key transcription factors, and a subset of 137 genes showing opposite expression patterns in individuals with high levels of the flavonoids gallocatechin and taxifolin glucoside. A total of 19 DEGs co-localized with QTLs. Our findings represent a significant step toward resolving the genomic architecture of PC production in spruce and facilitate the functional characterization of genes and transcriptional networks responsible for differences in constitutive production of PCs in conifers.

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cuiling Yuan ◽  
Chunjuan Li ◽  
Xiaodong Lu ◽  
Xiaobo Zhao ◽  
Caixia Yan ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Peanut is one of the most important oil crop species worldwide. NAC transcription factor (TF) genes play important roles in the salt and drought stress responses of plants by activating or repressing target gene expression. However, little is known about NAC genes in peanut. Results We performed a genome-wide characterization of NAC genes from the diploid wild peanut species Arachis duranensis and Arachis ipaensis, which included analyses of chromosomal locations, gene structures, conserved motifs, expression patterns, and cis-acting elements within their promoter regions. In total, 81 and 79 NAC genes were identified from A. duranensis and A. ipaensis genomes. Phylogenetic analysis of peanut NACs along with their Arabidopsis and rice counterparts categorized these proteins into 18 distinct subgroups. Fifty-one orthologous gene pairs were identified, and 46 orthologues were found to be highly syntenic on the chromosomes of both A. duranensis and A. ipaensis. Comparative RNA sequencing (RNA-seq)-based analysis revealed that the expression of 43 NAC genes was up- or downregulated under salt stress and under drought stress. Among these genes, the expression of 17 genes in cultivated peanut (Arachis hypogaea) was up- or downregulated under both stresses. Moreover, quantitative reverse transcription PCR (RT-qPCR)-based analysis revealed that the expression of most of the randomly selected NAC genes tended to be consistent with the comparative RNA-seq results. Conclusion Our results facilitated the functional characterization of peanut NAC genes, and the genes involved in salt and drought stress responses identified in this study could be potential genes for peanut improvement.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mei Jiang ◽  
Haimei Chen ◽  
Jingting Liu ◽  
Qing Du ◽  
Shanfa Lu ◽  
...  

AbstractSalvia miltiorrhiza is one of the most widely used traditional medicines. Natural antisense transcripts (NATs) are a class of long noncoding RNAs that can regulate gene expression. Here, we identified 812 NATs, including 168 cis-NATs and 644 trans-NATs from twelve root, flower, and leaf samples of S. miltiorrhiza using RNA-seq. The expression profiles for 41 of 50 NATs and their sense transcripts (STs) obtained from RNA-Seq were validated using qRT-PCR. The expression profiles of 17 NATs positively correlated with their STs. GO and KEGG pathway analyses mapped the STs for cis-NATs to pathways for biosynthesis of secondary metabolites. We characterized four NATs in detail, including NAT0001, NAT0002, NAT0004, and NAT00023. Their STs are kaurene synthase-like 1 and the homologs of UDP-glucose flavonoid 3-O-glucosyltransferase 6, UDP-glycosyltransferase 90A1, and beta-glucosidase 40, respectively. The first gene is involved in the biosynthesis of bioactive tanshinones, the next two are involved in anthocyanin biosynthesis, whereas the last is involved in phenylpropanoid biosynthesis. Besides, we found seven STs that are potential targets of miRNAs. And we found two miRNAs including miR156a and miR7208, might originate from NATs, NAT0112 and NAT0086. The results suggest that S. miltiorrhiza NATs might interact with STs, produce miRNAs, and be regulated by miRNAs. They potentially play significant regulatory roles in the biosynthesis of bioactive compounds.


2009 ◽  
Vol 29 (7) ◽  
pp. 947-957 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Zhao ◽  
B. Boyle ◽  
I. Duval ◽  
J.-L. Ferrer ◽  
H. Lin ◽  
...  

Leukemia ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alboukadel Kassambara ◽  
Laurie Herviou ◽  
Sara Ovejero ◽  
Michel Jourdan ◽  
Coraline Thibaut ◽  
...  

AbstractPlasma cells (PCs) play an important role in the adaptive immune system through a continuous production of antibodies. We have demonstrated that PC differentiation can be modeled in vitro using complex multistep culture systems reproducing sequential differentiation process occurring in vivo. Here we present a comprehensive, temporal program of gene expression data encompassing human PC differentiation (PCD) using RNA sequencing (RNA-seq). Our results reveal 6374 differentially expressed genes classified into four temporal gene expression patterns. A stringent pathway enrichment analysis of these gene clusters highlights known pathways but also pathways largely unknown in PCD, including the heme biosynthesis and the glutathione conjugation pathways. Additionally, our analysis revealed numerous novel transcriptional networks with significant stage-specific overexpression and potential importance in PCD, including BATF2, BHLHA15/MIST1, EZH2, WHSC1/MMSET, and BLM. We have experimentally validated a potent role for BLM in regulating cell survival and proliferation during human PCD. Taken together, this RNA-seq analysis of PCD temporal stages helped identify coexpressed gene modules with associated up/downregulated transcription regulator genes that could represent major regulatory nodes for human PC maturation. These data constitute a unique resource of human PCD gene expression programs in support of future studies for understanding the underlying mechanisms that control PCD.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xueying Zhang ◽  
Yuqing He ◽  
Wenda He ◽  
Hui Su ◽  
Yuefei Wang ◽  
...  

Abstract Lateral organ boundaries domain (LBD) proteins are plant-specific transcription factors that play a crucial role in growth and development, as well as metabolic processes. However, knowledge of the function of LBD proteins in Camellia sinensis is limited, and no systematic investigations of the LBD family have been reported. In this study, we identified 54 LBD genes in Camellia sinensis. The expression patterns of CsLBDs in different tissues and their transcription responses to exogenous hormones and abiotic stress were determined by RNA-seq, which showed that CsLBDs may have diverse functions. Analysis of the structural gene promoters revealed that the promoters of CsC4H, CsDFR and CsUGT84A, the structural genes involved in flavonoid biosynthesis, contained LBD recognition binding sites. The integrative analysis of CsLBD expression levels and metabolite accumulation also suggested that CsLBDs are involved in the regulation of flavonoid synthesis. Among them, CsLOB_3, CsLBD36_2 and CsLBD41_2, localized in the nucleus, were selected for functional characterization. Yeast two-hybrid assays revealed that CsLBD36_2 and CsLBD41_2 have self-activation activities, and CsLOB_3 and CsLBD36_2 can directly bind to the cis-element and significantly increase the activity of the CsC4H, CsDFR and CsUGT84A promoter. Our results present a comprehensive characterization of the 54 CsLBDs in Camellia sinensis and provide new insight into the important role that CsLBDs play in abiotic and flavonoid biosynthesis.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xi Wu ◽  
Yang Yang ◽  
Chaoyue Zhong ◽  
Yin Guo ◽  
Shuisheng Li ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Spermatogenesis is an intricate process regulated by a finely organized network. The orange-spotted grouper (Epinephelus coioides) is a protogynous hermaphroditic fish, but the regulatory mechanism of its spermatogenesis is not well-understood. In the present study, transcriptome sequencing of the male germ cells isolated from orange-spotted grouper was performed to explore the molecular mechanism underlying spermatogenesis. Results: In this study, the orange-spotted grouper was induced to change sex from female to male by 17alpha-methyltestosterone (MT) implantation. During the spermatogenesis, male germ cells (spermatogonia, spermatocytes, spermatids, and spermatozoa) were isolated by laser capture microdissection. Transcriptomic analysis for the isolated cells was performed. A total of 244,984,338 clean reads were generated from four cDNA libraries. Real-time PCR results of 13 genes related to sex differentiation and hormone metabolism indicated that transcriptome data are reliable. RNA-seq data showed that the female-related genes and genes involved in hormone metabolism were highly expressed in spermatogonia and spermatozoa, suggesting that these genes participate in the spermatogenesis. Interestingly, the expression of zbtb family genes showed significantly changes in the RNA-seq data, and their expression patterns were further examined during spermatogenesis. The analysis of cellular localization of Eczbtb40 and the co-localization of Eczbtb40 and Eccyp17a1 in different gonadal stages suggested that Eczbtb40 might interact with Eccyp17a1 during spermatogenesis. Conclusions: For the first time, our study investigated the transcriptome of the male germ cells from orange-spotted grouper, and identified functional genes, GO terms, and KEGG pathways involved in spermatogenesis. Furthermore, Eczbtb40 was first characterized and predicted the role during spermatogenesis. These data will contribute to future studies on the molecular mechanism of spermatogenesis in teleosts.


Author(s):  
Jie Yang ◽  
Chi Zhang ◽  
Wei-Hong Li ◽  
Tian-Er Zhang ◽  
Guang-Zhong Fan ◽  
...  

Background:: In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the heads and tails of Angelica sinensis (Oliv.) Diels (AS) is used in treating different diseases due to their different pharmaceutical efficacies. The underline mechanisms, however, have not been fully explored. Objective:: Novel mechanisms responsible for the discrepant activities between AS heads and tails were explored by a combined strategy of transcriptomes and metabolomics. Method:: Six pairs of the heads and tails of AS roots were collected in Min County, China. Total RNA and metabolites, which were used for RNA-seq and untargeted metabolomics analysis, were respectively isolated from each AS sample (0.1 g) by Trizol and methanol reagent. Subsequently, differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and discrepant pharmaceutical metabolites were identified for comparing AS heads and tails. Key DEGs and metabolites were quantified by qRT-PCR and targeted metabolomics experiment. Results:: Comprehensive analysis of transcriptomes and metabolomics results suggested that five KEGG pathways with significant differences included 57 DEGs. Especially, fourteen DEGs and six key metabolites were relation to the metabolic regulation of Phenylpropanoid biosynthesis (PB) pathway. Results of qRT-PCR and targeted metabolomics indicated that higher levels of expression of crucial genes in PB pathway, such as PAL, CAD, COMT and peroxidase in the tail of AS were positively correlated with levels of ferulic acid-related metabolites. The average content of ferulic acid in tails (569.58162.39 nmol/g) was higher than those in the heads (168.73  67.30 nmol/g) (P˂0.01); Caffeic acid in tails (3.82  0.88 nmol/g) vs heads (1.37  0.41 nmol/g) (P˂0.01), and Cinnamic acid in tails (0.24  0.09 nmol/g) vs heads (0.14  0.02 nmol/g) (P˂0.05). Conclusion:: Our work demonstrated that overexpressed genes and accumulated metabolites derived from PB pathway might be responsible for the discrepant pharmaceutical efficacies between AS heads and tails.


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