Transcriptome analysis of genes involved in defense against alkaline stress in roots of wild jujube (Ziziphus acidojujuba)

PLoS One. 2017 Oct 4;12(10):e0185732. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0185732. eCollection 2017.

Abstract

Wild jujube (Ziziphus acidojujuba Mill.) is highly tolerant to alkaline, saline and drought stress; however, no studies have performed transcriptome profiling to study the response of wild jujube to these and other abiotic stresses. In this study, we examined the tolerance of wild jujube to NaHCO3-NaOH solution and analyzed gene expression profiles in response to alkaline stress. Physiological experiments revealed that H2O2 content in leaves increased significantly and root activity decreased quickly during alkaline of pH 9.5 treatment. For transcriptome analysis, wild jujube plants grown hydroponically were treated with NaHCO3-NaOH solution for 0, 1, and 12 h and six transcriptomes from roots were built. In total, 32,758 genes were generated, and 3,604 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified. After 1 h, 853 genes showed significantly different expression between control and treated plants; after 12 h, expression of 2,856 genes was significantly different. The expression pattern of nine genes was validated by quantitative real-time PCR. After gene annotation and gene ontology enrichment analysis, the genes encoding transcriptional factors, serine/threonine-protein kinases, heat shock proteins, cysteine-like kinases, calmodulin-like proteins, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavengers were found to be closely involved in alkaline stress response. These results will provide useful insights for elucidating the mechanisms underlying alkaline tolerance in wild jujube.

Publication types

  • Validation Study

MeSH terms

  • Alkalies / pharmacology*
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Plant
  • Genes, Plant*
  • Plant Roots / genetics*
  • Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Sequence Analysis, RNA
  • Transcriptome*
  • Ziziphus / genetics*

Substances

  • Alkalies

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Key Science and Technology Program of Henan Province (Grant No. 162102110160 to MG, No. 152102110098 to XZ), Key Scientific Research Project for Higher Education of Henan Province (Grant No. 16B220003 to MG) and Natural Science Foundation of Henan Province (Grant No. 162300410198 to SL). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.