Comparative transcriptomic analysis reveals genes regulating the germination of morphophysiologically dormant Paris polyphylla seeds during a warm stratification

PLoS One. 2019 Feb 21;14(2):e0212514. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0212514. eCollection 2019.

Abstract

We previously analyzed the expression of genes associated with Paris polyphylla var. yunnanensis seed maturation and dormancy release; however, we were unable to clarify the relationship between gene expression levels and these processes. To reveal the molecular mechanisms underlying P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis seed dormancy release during a warm stratification, the transcriptomes of dormant and germinating P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis seeds were separately analyzed by RNA sequencing and were also compared with the transcriptomes of stem-leaf and root tissues harvested during the seed maturation stage. The RNA sequencing of five tissues generated 234,331 unigenes, of which 10,137 (4.33%) were differentially expressed among the analyzed tissues. The 6,619 unigenes whose expression varied among mature dormant, sprouted, and germinated seeds included 95 metabolic and 62 signaling genes related to abscisic acid, gibberellin, auxin, brassinosteroid, cytokinin, ethylene, jasmonic acid and salicylic acid. Additionally, 243 differentially expressed genes were annotated as known seed dormancy/germination-related genes. Among these genes, 109 were regulated by hormones or involved in hormone signal transduction. Finally, 310 transcription factor unigenes, including 71 homologs of known seed dormancy/ germination-related genes, were observed to be differentially expressed during a warm stratification. These results confirm that multiple hormones and transcription factors influence P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis seed dormancy release and germination during a warm stratification. This study identified candidate genes (e.g., ABI5) that should be cloned and functionally characterized regarding their effects on the release of P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis seed morphophysiological dormancy.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • China
  • Drugs, Chinese Herbal
  • Gene Expression Profiling
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Plant
  • Genes, Plant
  • Germination / genetics
  • Melanthiaceae / genetics*
  • Melanthiaceae / growth & development*
  • Melanthiaceae / metabolism
  • Molecular Sequence Annotation
  • Plant Dormancy / genetics
  • Plant Growth Regulators / genetics
  • Plant Growth Regulators / metabolism
  • Plants, Medicinal / genetics*
  • Plants, Medicinal / growth & development*
  • Plants, Medicinal / metabolism
  • Seeds / genetics
  • Seeds / growth & development
  • Signal Transduction / genetics
  • Temperature

Substances

  • Drugs, Chinese Herbal
  • Plant Growth Regulators

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31471575, and 31171623 to JQ) and the CAMS Initiative for Innovative Medicine (2016-I2M-2-003 to JQ, 2017-I2M-3-013 to XL).The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.