Transcriptomics and Metabolomics Reveal Purine and Phenylpropanoid Metabolism Response to Drought Stress in Dendrobium sinense, an Endemic Orchid Species in Hainan Island

Cuili Zhang; Jinhui Chen; Weixia Huang; Xiqiang Song; Jun Niu

doi:10.3389/fgene.2021.692702

Transcriptomics and Metabolomics Reveal Purine and Phenylpropanoid Metabolism Response to Drought Stress in Dendrobium sinense, an Endemic Orchid Species in Hainan Island

Front Genet. 2021 Jul 2:12:692702. doi: 10.3389/fgene.2021.692702. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Cuili Zhang¹, Jinhui Chen^{1

2}, Weixia Huang¹, Xiqiang Song¹, Jun Niu¹

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Genetics and Germplasm Innovation of Tropical Special Forest Trees and Ornamental Plants, Ministry of Education, College of Forestry, Hainan University, Haikou, Hainan, China.
² Engineering Research Center of Rare and Precious Tree Species in Hainan Province, College of Forestry, Hainan University, Haikou, Hainan, China.

Abstract

Drought stress is a bottleneck factor for plant growth and development, especially in epiphytic orchids that absorb moisture mainly from the air. Recent studies have suggested that there are complex transcriptional regulatory networks related to drought stress in Dendrobium sinense. In this study, the transcription and metabolite alterations involved in drought stress response in D. sinense were investigated through RNA-seq and metabolomics. A total of 856 metabolites were identified from stressed and control samples, with 391 metabolites showing significant differences. With PacBio and Illumina RNA sequencing, 72,969 genes were obtained with a mean length of 2,486 bp, and 622 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified. Correlation analysis showed 7 differential genes, and 39 differential metabolites were involved in interaction networks. The network analysis of differential genes and metabolites suggested that the pathways of purine metabolism and phenylpropanoid biosynthesis may play an important role in drought response in D. sinense. These results provide new insights and reference data for culturally important medicinal plants and the protection of endangered orchids.

Keywords: Dendrobium sinense; drought stress; metabolomics; phenylpropanoid biosynthesis; purine metabolism; third-generation sequencing; transcriptomics.