Polyploidy breeding of cassava has been used to improve cassava traits over the past years. We previously reported in vitro induction of tetraploids in the cassava variety "Xinxuan 048" using colchicine. Significant differences in morphology and anatomy were found between the diploid and tetraploid plants. However, very little is known about the transcriptome difference between them. In this study, morphological and physiological characteristics including leaf thickness, plant height, internode length, chlorophyll content, and photosynthetic capacity were measured. Further, we investigated and validated the difference in gene expression patterns between cassava "Xinxuan 048" tetraploid genotype and its diploid plants using RNA sequencing (RNAseq) and quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Significant differences in morphology and physiology were observed during tetraploidization. A comparison revealed that tetraploidy induced very limited changes in the leaf transcriptomes of cassava "Xinxuan 048" diploid and autotetraploid plants. However, the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between 2× and 4× plants, especially those upregulated in 4× plants, were strongly associated with hormonal and stress responses. Large changes in morphology and physiology between the diploid cassava "Xinxuan 048" and its autotetraploid were not associated with large changes in their leaf transcriptomes. Moreover, the differently expressed genes related to the regulation of gibberellin and brassinosteroids potentially explained why the plant height and internode length of 4× plants became shorter. Collectively, our results suggest that 4× cassava is potentially valuable for breeding strains with improved stress resistance.
Keywords: Autotetraploid; Cassava; Morphology; Physiology; Transcriptome.