Identification of Genic SSRs Provide a Perspective for Studying Environmental Adaptation in the Endemic Shrub Tetraena mongolica.

Zhenhua Dang,Lei Huang,Yuanyuan Jia,Peter J Lockhart,Yunyun Tian,Yang Fong

doi:10.3390/genes11030322

Zhenhua Dang, Lei Huang + Show 4 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/genes11030322

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Journal: Genes	Publication Date: Mar 18, 2020
Citations: 5	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Inner Mongolia University, Massey University

Abstract

Tetraena mongolica is a xerophytic shrub endemic to desert regions in Inner Mongolia. This species has evolved distinct survival strategies that allow it to adapt to hyper-drought and heterogeneous habitats. Simple sequence repeats (SSRs) may provide a molecular basis in plants for fast adaptation to environmental change. Thus, identifying SSRs and their possible effects on gene behavior has the potential to provide valuable information for studies of adaptation. In this study, we sequenced six individual transcriptomes of T. mongolica from heterogeneous habitats, focused on SSRs located in genes, and identified 811 polymorphic SSRs. Of the identified SSRs, 172, 470, and 76 were located in 5′ UTRs, CDSs, and 3′ UTRs in 591 transcripts; and AG/CT, AAC/GTT, and AT/AT were the most abundant repeats in each gene region. Functional annotation showed that many of the identified polymorphic SSRs were in genes that were enriched in several GO terms and KEGG pathways, suggesting the functional significance of these genes in the environmental adaptation process. The identification of polymorphic genic SSRs in our study lays a foundation for future studies investigating the contribution of SSRs to regulation of genes in natural populations of T. mongolica and their importance for adaptive evolution of this species.

Highlights

IntroductionTetraena mongolica (2n = 2x = 28) [1], a monotypic species of the Zygophyllaceae family, is a xerophytic shrub that originated from the Tethys Ocean, and is endemic to the Eastern
Tetraena mongolica (2n = 2x = 28) [1], a monotypic species of the Zygophyllaceae family, is a xerophytic shrub that originated from the Tethys Ocean, and is endemic to the EasternAlxa–Western Ordos desert region in Inner Mongolia, China [2,3]
497 polymorphic genic Simple sequence repeats (SSRs) were identified in the comparison of the transcriptomes representing the northern and southern population of Parrotia subaequalis [40]; and 1663 polymorphic expressed sequence tag (EST)-SSRs were identified by comparing the transcriptomes of tea plant and 19 Camellia species [48]

Summary

Introduction

Tetraena mongolica (2n = 2x = 28) [1], a monotypic species of the Zygophyllaceae family, is a xerophytic shrub that originated from the Tethys Ocean, and is endemic to the Eastern. The area is characterized by hyper-drought conditions, low annual temperatures, and high soil salinity [4]. To adapt to the semi-desert environment, T. mongolica has evolved distinct survival strategies, such as an extensive root system, thick cuticles on its stems, and succulent leaves. T. mongolica has important ecological roles as a windbreak and in the fixation of local ecosystem soils [3]. High levels of triacylglycerol in its stems makes it combustible even in the fresh state, so it has been used as firewood and is named locally as “oil firewood” [5,6]. T. mongolica is a typical species that grows in this area and

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